Mutant Dawn
by Cobra-kun
Summary: A seemingly insurmountable challenge forces foes to unite. On hiatus but coming back! You all thought I had abadoned it, but no!
1. Rogue gets a warning

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own X-Men: Evolution, its characters, or their likenesses, etc. etc.  The good folks at Marvel comics have that happy power. This is a non-profit endeavor for you, the readers.

A/N- Greetings all!  It is I, Cobra, back on FF.net after a lengthy absence.  For those who care, or even know what I'm talking about, I will finish the Seasons Chronicles I begun some time ago. You can check those out in the Ranma ½ section, if you are so inclined.  Anywho, I got bitten by the X-bug, and just had to write this story. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

          Dawn broke, as it was prone to do, with all the grace and subtlety of a stampeding herd of buffalo.  Harsh rays of early morning sun fell across the closed eyelids of Kurt Wagner, and the young German boy cursed, not for the first time, the placement of his bedroom window in relation to position of the rising sun each morning.  Kurt attempted to roll away from the encroaching sunlight and get back to sleep, but the moment he did so, he felt a sharp pain coming from the small of his back.

          "Verdamt tail."  He muttered and threw off the covers, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and landing with practiced grace on his two-toed feet.  Kurt yawned, briefly showing off his elongated canines, and stretched gracefully, arching his uncommonly flexible spine in a direction most yoga practitioners could only dream of assuming.

          Rubbing the sleep out of his yellow, pupil less eyes, Kurt trudged down the carpeted hallway, towel thrown over one shoulder, towards the bathroom.  One three-fingered hand was about to be placed on the doorknob when a petite form dashed in front of him and straight through the bathroom door with hardly a glance back.

          "Sorry Kurt, but, like, this is a total emergency! I'm _sooo _late!"

Kurt stared blearily at the door, before moving his eyes towards the clock mounted on the wall.

          "But, Kitty…" he moaned.  "We don't even have to leave for school for another hour."

          "I know!"  Can you believe I slept this late?!  I'll _never _be ready on time…"

          Kurt heaved a defeated sigh and, leaving Kitty to her ramblings as she prepared for her morning routine, turned and began the long trudge to the bathroom on the other side of the mansion.  He didn't dare teleport, with his sleep-addled mind barely able to concentrate on walking, there was no way of telling where he might end up if he _bamfed.  So, his only hope was that he could make it to the bathroom before someone else did._

          "Fat chance."  He muttered to himself.

          Logan peered out of the Danger Room's large observation window as the new recruits ran through one of the many practice exercises designed to teach them how to properly use their powers.  Needless to say, the children were bumbling through the session, barely escaping harm purely on instinct and reflexes.  More likely than not, it had something to do with the fact that they had been up since five-thirty that morning.

          Logan sighed as he watched Iceman escape being singed by a low-powered blaster by unceremoniously falling on his icy butt and sliding across the Danger Room floor.  These kids were the future defenders of man and mutant kind?  Well, if he could do it with Cyclops and the others, he could do it with this group.  Or he'd die trying.

          "Alright kiddos, class dismissed." He growled into the microphone as he terminated the session.  There was a general sigh of relief all around as the kids turned as one and trudged towards the exit.

          "Man, Wolverine's such a slave driver.  Why's he gotta go and get us up at the ass-crack of dawn for these torture sessions?"  Berserker complained to the group in general as they filed into the elevator that would take them to the mansions main level.

          "Because, Ray, we have to 'learn to function as a team in order to use our powers to the fullest extent and protect the people of this world'."  Magma answered, quoting one of the Professor's speeches.

          "Yeah, but that doesn't mean we gotta be run through the wringer five times a week."  Bobby said, converting his ice form to normal flesh and blood again.

          "Well, you can tell that to Wolverine,"  Wolfsbane replied in her Scottish brogue.  "Because here he comes now."

The kids looked up wearily as Logan advanced on them, ready to begin one of his tirades on how poorly they had performed.  A speech most of the children tuned out, having heard it many times before.

          Breakfast that day was the standard affair.  Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty and Rogue sat about, chattering away about the various classes they had that day, the oral report they were dreading giving, or the homework assignment they would be spending study hall working on, having failed to complete it the night before.

          At the other end of the table, Professor Xavier sat with Logan, Storm, and the Beast, listening as Wolverine completed his report on that mornings Danger Room session.

          Xavier chuckled quietly at Logan's exasperation.  "Now Logan, they'll improve in time.  They've still got a lot to learn you know."

          "Yeah, I know Charles."  He replied as he stabbed at a plate of sausages with his fork.  "I just wish they'd take it more seriously.  It's a dangerous world out there, what with Magneto running around, and half the population not trusting us mutants."

          "They'll only be children for so long."  Hank offered, reaching out with a long, furry arm to retrieve a pitcher of coffee.  "Besides, when the going gets rough, they've proven they can hold their own."

          "Indeed.  And they've got the others to look up to.  Don't worry Logan, they'll be fine."  Xavier patted his old friend on the shoulder as his older students stood from the table, making room for the younger students who would be along shortly.  And made their way towards the front door to leave for school.

          "Alright, who's riding with me?"  Scott fished his keys out from his pocket as he made his way towards his sports car.  Jean would be coming with him, of course, and his brain had already accounted for her.  That left two free seats, three if they scrunched.  Kurt 'ported into the backseat, while Kitty hoped over the door into the seat next to him.  Scott and Jean climbed in, and Scott glanced up at their other friend.

          "Rogue, you coming?"

The skunk-haired girl shook her head with a tiny smile.  "No thanks, I feel like walkin' today.

          "Suit yourself."  Scott shrugged and started the car, pulling out of the garage.  "See you at school!"  He called back, before driving through the front gates and onto the road.

          Rogue waved, then began to follow in the cars wake at a relaxed pace.  The school building wasn't far, and she'd make it with time to spare as long as she didn't slow to a crawl.  And with very little on the way there to distract her, that wasn't likely to happen.

          As they drove, Kitty leaned forward to talk to Scott and Jean.

          "D'ya think Evan will be in school today?" she asked, referring to their teammate who had left to join the Morlocks some time ago.

          Jean shook her head, her fiery hair blowing wildly behind her as the convertible sped along.  "Not unless he's gotten his powers under control, and even then, he might not want to."

          Kitty nodded and sat back again, as Kurt, now under the guise of a normal human, thanks to his image inducer, laid a hand on her shoulder.

          "Don't worry Kitty, we'll see him again, when he's ready."

Kitty nodded, but her reply was cut off as a jeep went screaming by them, passing in a no passing zone, and blowing a cloud of smoke in their faces from its exhaust.

          Behind his shades, Scott's eyes narrowed in annoyance and suspicion.   "Alvers.  Where's _he _going in such a rush?  It can't be school, Principle Kelly expelled him and his thugs."

          Jean merely shrugged, not having an answer.  Kurt glanced at Kitty, and noticed she had that look in her eyes again.

          _Daydreaming about Lance again.  He thought.  _She still hasn't gotten over him apparently.  No matter what she says.__

          Rogue walked along the sidewalk, enjoying the springtime air.  Most of her fellow pedestrians ignored her.  Those that recognized her barely spared her a glance as they hurried about their busy lives.  She was thoroughly enjoying the lack of attention, until she turned the corner, and spied an all too familiar figure leaning against a lamppost, brown trenchcoat fluttering lightly in the breeze.

          "Mornin' chere."  The Acolyte called Gambit said as he turned to face the approaching girl.

Rogue narrowed her eyes and adopted a position of defiance, hands planted firmly on her hips.

          "What d'ya want, swamp rat?  Yer gonna make me late."

The cocky Cajun smiled that infuriating (And handsome, Rogue was forced to admit) smile of his as he raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

          "No worries, chere.  Ol' Gambit, he dun come here lookin' fer a fight.  Just came ta warn ya.  Da boss man, he t'ink somethin's goin' on.  Somethin' big maybe.  You might wanna tell yer friends ta be on dere toes."

          Rogue eyed the Cajun warily.  "Why are ya telling' me this.  We ain't exactly on the same side."

          "Gambit believe in a fair fight, dat's all."  Then, with a bow, Gambit stuffed his hands in his pockets, crossed the street, and headed off in the opposite direction.

          Rogue watched him go for a few moments, then realized she'd be late for school if she stood around gawking any longer.

          He kept the room dark.  He preferred it that way.  It was much easier to think without distractions caused by the light.  So, in the dark, the pale man sat, and thought.  Putting his genius to work at solving the mysteries of human evolution.

          His glowing red eyes glanced towards the door as it opened, allowing a shaft of light to pierce the darkness, illuminating a portion of the pale man's dark blue costume.

          "Yes, Julio, what can I do for you."  The pale man addressed his visitor, allowing a hint of annoyance to creep into his voice.  The man called Julio did not show any outward signs of intimidation.  _Good, he's learned his lessons well."  The pale man thought._

          "It's Lykos."  Julio replied.  "He's becoming harder to handle.  He tried to feed off of Cassidy before we could sedate him."

          "Are you complaining, Julio?  Lykos will be a powerful ally."

          "He's becoming a liability.  It's only a matter of time before he gets his scaly talons on one of us, with those damn hypnotic powers of his."

          The pale man sighed, he was growing tired of having this conversation with Julio.  "Then don't get close enough for Lykos to exert his power over you.  Soon enough, he will have all the mutants to feed off he desires.  Now, please excuse yourself Julio, I would like to get back to my previous activities."

          "But…"  Julio began.

          "Now!"  The pale man snapped, suddenly sounding much more dangerous.

          "My apologies."  Julio bowed sharply, before turning and hurrying from his master's chambers.  Leaving the pale man in his darkness once more.

          Rogue sat in algebra class, barely listening to her teacher drone on and on about some complicated equation she didn't have a prayer of comprehending.  _I'll have to get Kitty ta help me again._  She thought remembering her friend had skipped a grade, thanks to her high IQ.  

          What really had Rogue's attention was the conversation she had had with Gambit that morning.  It was entirely possible, she reasoned, that the Acolyte was simply messing with her, trying to throw her off her game.  But he just seemed so sincere.

          The question was, whether or not to tell her friends about the encounter.  She was pretty sure they would scold her for listening to the enemy, but what if his words were true, and they really did need to be more alert?

          Any further musings were cut short, as he teacher's voice snapped her out of her reverie.  "Miss Rogue, I'm sure your daydreams are fascinating, but kindly save them for when you are not in this class."

          Rogue shook her head and forced herself to concentrate on the lesson.  "Sorry sir, won't happen again."

Her teacher nodded curtly, and then returned to the blackboard to resume his droning.

Authors Ramblings:  Not much of a first chapter I know, but it's only the first!  There is certainly a lot more to come.  Can anyone guess who this mysterious new villain is?  If you do figure it out, please do not say so in your review, you might spoil it for other readers. Chapter two coming soon, until then.  Cobra, awaaayyyyy!!  


	2. Power Struggle

            Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own any of the characters in this story.  Marvel has that happy power.

A/N: Hi-ho.  Sorry it took so long for this next chapter, but, you know how things are.  Well, I only got one review, but hey, you know what?  That's OK, because as long as I know even one person is reading my stories, I'll continue to write.  Big thanks to you, Architeuthis! Well, here's part 2, enjoy! 

Lance Alvers stood in the snack food section of the Bayville supermarket, having a staring contest with the various bags of chips lined up in front of him.  What bothered him the most was that he seemed to be losing.

          "Shit, what kind did Pietro say he wanted again?  Was it the sour cream and onion with, or without the ridges.  Or was it salt and vinegar…?"

          Why did he have to go through all this crap anyway?  Pietro was supposed to be making the Brotherhood into a team, not using them as his personal errand boys.  Today, the stuck-up, silver-haired speed freak had Lance doing his grocery shopping, while Todd did his laundry, and Fred had to replace the carpeting that Pietro had wore a hole in with his relentless pacing.

          The girls always got out of doing Pietro's chores.  Tabitha would simply laugh at him and go off to do her own thing.  And Wanda never had to do anything for her twin brother, mostly because Pietro was afraid of her, even if she wasn't after Magneto's blood anymore (why that was, Lance still had to figure out).

          So Lance and the others were forced to suffer through all of this.  Why again?  Ah, that's right, so the Brotherhood could earn a place within Magneto's Alcolytes.

          "But…is that what I really want?"  Lance muttered to himself.  Todd and Fred seemed to think it was a good idea.  Tabitha didn't seem to care either way, and who knew what Wanda thought.  But Lance, though he wouldn't say so out loud, wasn't sure he though the same way as the others.

          Despite the attitude Lance constantly displayed, he was beginning to think the Brotherhood wasn't the place for him.  He had genuinely wanted to join the X-Men that one time, but their refusal to accept him was too much for him to bear.

          Well, not every X-Man had rejected him.  "Kitty accepted me…"

Lance glanced up from his musings, and noticed he had attracted quite a crowd.  Many of his fellow shoppers had stopped to stare at the young man who seemed to be having a conversation with the potato chips.

          Grumbling, Lance grabbed the first bag that caught his attention.  BBQ, if Pietro didn't like it, he could buy his own damn chips.  And headed for the checkout.

          Piotr Rasputin was never entirely comfortable around Magneto.  The man was the Master of Magnetism after all, and with Piotr's ability to convert his entire body to living steel, that left him at a slight disadvantage when dealing with a man who had a notorious hair-trigger temper.

          "Well, Colossus, any news?"  Magneto asked as he stared down his Acolyte from the depths of his gladiator-style helmet.

          "Nyet, Magneto.  Whatever presence it was Mastermind thought he felt, he has been able to confirm nothing more on the matter."

          Magneto turned his back to Colossus to stare out the large, panoramic window before him, hands clasped behind his back under his scarlet cape.

          "This worries me.  How is it that Mastermind can detect the presence of a large group of mutants in the area, and then suddenly be unable to sense them any further?"

          Colossus did not answer Magneto, for he knew the mutant terrorist did not expect one.  When Magneto did not speak further, Piotr took that as a sign that his presence was no longer required, and turned to take his leave.

          Upon exiting Magneto's chamber, he noticed that of all his fellow teammates, only Pyro was currently home.  Neither Sabertooth, nor Gambit where anywhere to be seen, and Piotr had no idea where they could've gotten to.

          He was about to give voice to his questions, when the door swung open and Gambit strolled in, whistling a merry tune.  He greeted his fellow Acolytes with a cheery wave, and went to hang up his coat.

          "What're you so happy about, mate?"  The Australian-born Pyro asked his cohort, one bright orange eyebrow raised in confusion.

          "I just been out in da springtime air, how can I not be happy?"  Gambit replied with a shrug.

          Pyro wasn't convinced, however.  "You saw her again didn't you?  That X-girl?"

          Gambit gave a mysterious little smile.  "Maybe I did, and maybe I didn', Gambit never tell."

          "She is the enemy.  If Magneto found out you were consorting with her…"  Colossus began, but Gambit interrupted him.

          "He only find out if you tell him.  You ain't gonna do dat ta your ol' pal Gambit, are ya?  'Sides, it nothin' harmful.  Ain't givin' out any of our secrets or nothin'" 

          Piotr merely sighed and shook his head.  Further conversation was cut off when Sabertooth made his entrance, looking as surly as ever.  The big mutant glanced at his comrades briefly.

          "Where's Magneto?"  He asked simply.

Colossus pointed over his shoulder, and Sabertooth stalked into Magneto's chambers.

          "Yes, Victor, what is it?"  Magneto asked as Sabertooth entered, without even turning around.

          "I got something, a scent."

Now, Magneto did turn around.  "Do go on."

          "Outside of town, 'bout thirty miles.  Really weird.  Kind of like a reptile and a human all in one.  It's difficult to describe."

          Magneto peered at Sabertooth for a few moments, then nodded and turned to the window again.  "Tell the others to prepare for departure.  I want you to show me where you picked up this scent."

          Sabertooth nodded, then turned and departed from the room.

          The Beast sat hunched over on the floor, large, furry fingers hurriedly typing away at a keyboard.  The keyboard was plugged into an open panel on the side of a large bank of monitors, all of which were currently displaying millions of lines of binary code.

          Hank stopped typing for a moment, and then glanced up at the displays.  He narrowed his eyes a moment, gave a quite 'hmmm' then returned to his typing, not even pausing as he took a sip from a mug of coffee clutched in his toes.  He looked up again when he heard the sound of the door opening, and saw Professor Xavier enter, his motorized wheelchair making no noise as it rolled along.

          "Well Hank, how goes the conversion?"  Xavier asked as he pulled up to the computer bank where Hank was working.

          "Not as swiftly as I had hoped.  I'm having trouble with this particular line of code here."  He pointed to one of the screens, which had stopped scrolling.  One line of ones and zeros was highlighted in red.

          "Which program is that?"  Xavier asked, leaning forward for a closer look.

          "If I'm not mistaken, it's the one that connects the primary psion detector to the signal digitizer/spectrum analyzer.  It seems that the problem is that while they function normally as is, they won't work in reverse after the conversion is complete."

          Xavier nodded as he considered the problem.  With the mansion itself restored, he and Hank had focused their energies now on the rebuilding of the mutant-detecting computer, Cerebro.  Originally, Cerebro would detect mutants by picking up on the psionic wavelengths of their brains, which differed from normal humans.  Xavier could then use his own mental powers to boost the effectiveness of the detection.

         However, during the early stages of construction, when Cerebro's code was still being written, the Professor had decided to slightly alter the design.  He proposed that they use Cerebro to augment _his abilities, believing he would be able to more accurately pinpoint a mutant's location, by locking on to their signals using his own powers.  Beast had volunteered to rewrite the program that would allow for the conversion._

          This was no easy task however.  A program as sophisticated as Cerebro had millions of lines of code to go through and, even with occasional help from Kitty during her spare time, the process was slow going, especially when they ran into dead ends like the one they faced now.

          "Suppose we were to reroute the psion detector through the cybernetic frequency antenna exciters, _then _back into digitizer?"  Xavier asked after some thought.

          Hank scratched his hairy chin, before pushing his glasses further up his nose.  "Now that you mention it that just might work.  That would allow us to bypass the programming block in the digitizer by making the computer think it was running under its normal commands.  Excellent thinking, Professor.  The only problem is it will take some time."

          "Just do what you can, Hank.  On another subject, how is the side project coming along?'

The Beast brightened considerably when Xavier mentioned this, and set down the keyboard to cross the room and retrieve something from a shelf.  Returning, he handed it to the Professor.  It was a small, black rectangle, about half the size of a playing card, and only a few centimeters thicker.

          "That endeavor, I am pleased to say, has proceeded much smoother.  With these mini-Cerebro units, the X-Men will be able to locate missing comrades in the field, and also further narrow down a search by Cerebro.  Obviously, they won't be functional until the main computer is back online, but once that's finished, these will be ready for use straight away."

          "Excellent news, Hank."  The Professor said, handing the unit back over to Beast.

          "You two tech heads done playing with your toys for a minute?"  Wolverine asked as he strode into the room.  Xavier turned his chair to face him.

          "For the moment.  What is it that you require, Logan?"

          "Got someone upstairs who wants to speak with you."  He replied, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

          "Who?"

          "You'll see."  Was all Logan would say.

          The pale man strode into the meeting room, where around a table sat his two field commanders.  One was Julio who, up until his master entered the room, had been drumming his fingers on the table in boredom.  The second the door had opened, he had ceased the action, and sat up a little straighter in his chair.

          The second occupant at the table was a very unassuming young woman.  The only physical feature that would set her apart from a crowd was her head of bright, emerald green hair.

          The pale man wasted no time with formalities.  "Julio, report."

          Julio cleared his throat before beginning.  "Earlier today, Cassidy spotted one of Magneto's Acolytes sniffing around the area where we took down Lykos after he broke free last week."

          "Which Acolyte?"

          "The animal, Sabertooth."

The pale man rubbed his chin with a blue-gloved hand.  "Likely using that sense of smell of his.  He will have noticed Lykos' distinct scent for sure.  This could become a problem."  The pale man then turned to Julio's female companion.  "What have you got to add, Lorna?"

          "Around the same time, a large aircraft was sighted in the vicinity of our location.  It circled around several times, and then vanished."  The green-haired woman, Lorna, supplied. 

          "That could be any number of things, but if it is what I think it is, it could pose as much a problem as Magneto.  Julio, Lorna, I want you both to tell the others to prepare.  It's very possible we may receive company within the next few days."

         "Colonel Fury, to what do I owe this honor?"  Xavier asked as he was introduced to his guest.

          The man he addressed, Nick Fury, was the head of the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Logistics Division, better known as S.H.I.E.L.D.  A government funded, high-tech, worldwide anti-terrorist group.  S.H.I.E.L.D had access to technologies that the general public didn't even know existed, and was charged with keeping track of and preventing terrorist attacks, of both the normal and paranormal variety.

          Fury himself was a grizzled veteran of World War II, who bore a patch over one eye.  Only the patches of gray at his temples gave any indication of his age.  Fury was in top physical condition, and his mind was a sharp as ever.  He could usually be seen chomping on a cigar, a trait he shared with Logan, but had currently refrained from indulging himself in accordance with Xavier's no-smoking policy.

          "You won't be so pleased to see me when you here what I have to say, Xavier."  Fury said, cutting right to the chase.  "At 1433 four days ago, we picked up a large group of energy signatures congregating around a supposedly deserted military outpost, thirty miles outside of town.  Upon closer inspection, conducted from the air by our helicarrier, we could not visually confirm any activity taking place there, though we continued to detect the energy signatures.  However, some type of interference was preventing us from determining exactly what it was we were picking up."

          "Why are you sharing this information with us, Colonel?"  Xavier asked.

          "We have reason to believe that they were mutant energy signatures.  Unless our intelligence is mistaken, your mutant detecting computer is not currently in operation.  I thought it would be prudent to inform you of the situation."

          "I appreciate that Colonel, but wouldn't it be easier for you and your agents to deal with this yourselves?"

          "S.H.I.E.L.D can't become involved without knowing what it is exactly that we're dealing with, not officially anyway."

          "Well, I'm very glad you came to me with this information, Colonel Fury, although I'm not to sure I like the idea of you keeping surveillance on us without our knowing it."

          Fury gave a small smile as he turned to leave.  "We keep surveillance on everyone Xavier, that's our job."  Then, without waiting for good-byes, Fury excused himself from the room.

          "What do you think?"  Xavier asked Hank and Logan once Fury had departed.

          "I think it's worth checking out.  I know Fury, he doesn't joke around about this kind of stuff."  Logan said, who looked like he was spoiling for some action after hearing Fury's report.

          "I concur."  Beast added.  "We need to determine if this alleged group of mutants poses a danger to us."

At that moment, they all heard the sound of a car pulling up, and the sound of the student's voices as they approached the mansion.

          "Scott and the others are home from school.  Logan, have them meet me in the War Room as soon as possible."  Xavier said, before wheeling out of the room.

          "C'mon losers, get up off your asses, we got stuff to do!"

Lance barely spared Pietro a glance as he sped into the room, then went back to the newspaper he had been browsing.  He'd be damned if he let himself be bossed around.  His other two, somewhat brainless companions didn't have any problems asking "how high?" when Pietro said "jump."

          "What's up, Pietro?"  Fred asked as he stood up, one large, meaty fist balling us, as if in anticipation of a fight.

          "Got a call from the old man, said he wanted us to meet his group at some old base or something about thirty miles outside of town."  Pietro said as he paced around, never content to stand in one place for very long.

          "Thirty miles?"  Lance asked, throwing down his paper.  "And how, exactly, are we to get to this location?  We can't all move as fast as you can, you know."

          Pietro gave Lance a look one usually reserved for single-celled organisms.  "You got a jeep, don't you?  You can drive, can't you?  Go on and get ready, I'll go get the girls.  Move it!"  Then he turned and sped from the room.

          Lance snarled and stood to go change into his uniform.  "You two better chip in for the gas!"  He barked at Fred and Todd, before he stormed out of the room, the floor shaking slightly in his wake.

          "Man…"  Todd said, snatching a fly out of mid air with his freakishly long tongue.  "What crawled up his ass?"

          Five, spherical orbs floated through the air, held aloft by some unseen force.  There was no noise to indicate a motor of any kind as they glided silently along.  In truth, they were guided purely by the will of a single man.  Magneto sat in contemplation within the steel confines of his own orb, using his magnetic powers to guide them along almost as an afterthought.  If Mastermind and Sabertooth were correct, he would soon come across more potential allies in his fight against _homo sapien_.  Not to mention Charles and his little band of followers.

          The five orbs, sunlight gleaming off their metal hulls, settled quietly into the dirt.  The tops slid open and Magneto emerged into the warm, afternoon air.  His acolytes followed shortly after, and Magneto sent the orbs a few yards away.  

          He peered out from the depths of his helmet at what was once a military outpost, but had been abandoned since 1978.  It had stood up fairly well to the ravages of time.  Its white-washed walls, though covered with a layer of ivy, and showing signs of discoloration in some spots, were more or less whole.  Small windows were spaced at even intervals around the rectangular building, and they were frosted, to prevent outsiders from looking in.

          "Well, do we get this party started or what?"  Pyro asked, small jets of flames spurting out of the wrist mounted flamethrowers that were connected to the tank of fuel he wore on his back.

          "No."  Magneto said.  "We wait for my son."

Pyro shrugged and went to lounge in the shade of a small tree.  Sabertooth began to pace around, looking very much like the proverbial caged animal.  Gambit amused himself with a few card tricks, some of which involved minor explosions.  Colossus merely stood where he was, steel plated face completely neutral and unreadable.

          Before long, Magneto spied a cloud of dust off in the distance.  After a few more minutes, a shape could be discerned, moving in their direction.  The shape took form, becoming that of a rust-red jeep.  The jeep pulled up to them, and the Brotherhood clambered out, Pietro running up behind them on his own power.

          "You're late."  Magneto said, by way of greeting to his son.

          "Hey, it ain't my fault I'm stuck with these slo-mo's as teammates."  He whined, casting a withering glance over his shoulder at the others.

          Magneto grunted, and then glanced over at Pietro's twin sister.  Wanda looked back at him with an unreadable expression.  It seemed that Mastermind's implanted memories were working correctly, still though; something about the way she looked at him…

          Magneto shook it off and gestured to his Acolytes, who gathered around him.  "Alright, we're moving in.  Our top priority is to try and recruit whoever's in there.  If that fails, we are to eliminate them as quickly as possible. We can't risk them having exposure to…"

          He was cut off as a large shadow descended over the group.  Everyone looked up to see the shape of a specially modified SR-71 Blackbird as it lowered itself to the ground with its VTOL jets.

          "The X-Men."  Magneto finished with undisguised annoyance.

          The Blackbird completed its landing cycle, and its powerful engines wound down.  The ramp unsealed itself, and its crew disembarked.  Led by Wolverine, the X-Men stared down the Brotherhood and the Acolytes with open hostility, a feeling that was more than mutual.

          "Why am I not surprised?"  Magneto asked, as his followers formed a tight circle around him.  "I feel ashamed that I didn't count on Xavier's pet mutants to interfere here."

          Wolverine growled and stepped forward to get in Magneto's face.  Not something easily accomplished, with the very broad chest of Colossus baring his way.

          "Here's the deal, bub.  You and your fanatics here pack up your stuff, turn tail, and get back under the rock you crawled out from under, and we don't have to rough you up."

          Magneto scoffed as he rose above the gathering with his magnetic powers.  "My ill-bred, swaggering little savage, I invite you to try."  He then turned to address his Acolytes and the Brotherhood.  "Our original goal has been postponed for the moment.  Deal with the X-Men first."

         "All right, now we're getting somewhere!"  Pyro shouted as he raised his arms above his head, jets of flames shooting upwards to take the shape of an enormous, firey bull, before it charged down the X-Men.  They all scattered, accept for Cyclops, who opened the front of his ruby quartz visor and unleashed a beam of crimson energy at the bull, dispersing it.

          Wolverine's claws snapped out from the back of his hands, and he made a beeline straight for Sabertooth.  "You and me, Creed!"

          "Wouldn't have it any other way, runt!"  Sabertooth shouted as he leapt to meet Wolverine's charge, tackling him in mid air.  The two old enemies rolled across the ground, snarling and slashing at each other.  Sabertooth brought their movement for a stop and placed his feet in Logan's stomach, kicking him off.  Wolverine pulled off a flip and landed on his feet.  Charging immediately at Sabertooth again.  His claws flashed out, looking for an early victory.  

          Of course, things with Sabertooth rarely went easy.  The much larger mutant ducked under the strike and lashed out with a powerful leg, catching Wolverine behind the knees.  Logan howled as he fell backwards.  Sabertooth was on him almost as soon as he hit the ground.  Grabbing onto Logan's ankles, Sabertooth lifted him off the ground and flung him several feet away.

          "I knew it was going to be one of those days."  Wolverine muttered as he righted himself in mid air, and prepared to meet his opponents next charge.

          "Hey!  Where's Bone-Boy?  I was looking forward for a chance to mop the floor with him today!"  Quicksilver shouted as he ran circles around the X-Men.

          "Evan's got his own things to deal with!  Now hold still, damn you!"  Cyclops shouted as he attempted to knock Pietro off his feet with an optic blast.  Though if he expected the silver-haired boy to stand still for him, he was sorely disappointed.

          "Nyah nyah!  Catch me if you can Summers!"  Quicksilver shouted as he nimbly dodged another of Scott's blast.

          "Easy enough."  Came another voice, and Pietro found himself suspended in the air, unable to run anywhere for lack of friction with the ground.  Pietro turned his head to spy Jean, her arms outstretched, obviously holding him aloft with her telekinetic powers.

          "Hey!  No fair siccing your girlfriend on me!"  Quicksilver protested, as he tried in vain to break away from Jean's mental grip.

          "All's fair Speedy, hate to break it to ya."  Cyclops smirked, before sending Quicksilver tumbling away with an optic blast.

          "Great work, Jean!"  Cyclops shouted, flashing the pretty redhead a thumbs up. 

          "Don't pat yourself on the back yet, Summers!"  The voice of Avalanche came from behind him, before the ground beneath his feet began to shake violently.  Cyclops attempted to twist around to get a shot at Lance, but he lost his footing as the earth began to break up around him.  A large chunk of rock broke free and slammed into his ribs, sending him sprawling and knocking the air out of him.

          "Scott!"  Jean shouted, and started to float over to him, when she suddenly found herself unable to move, as if she were stopped by the same trick she had just used on Pietro.  A glance over her shoulder, however, revealed that the Scarlet Witch was behind this.

          "Wanda, what are you doing?!  I thought you hated Magneto!"  Jean shouted, wondering what had come over the girl.

          Wanda looked at for a few moments with what could almost be called confusion, and then she snarled and flung Jean away.  "Don't confuse me!"

          Across the battlefield, Nightcrawler was locked in a staring contest with Boom-Boom, the very girl he used to have a crush on during the brief time she had been a member of the X-Men.  It shouldn't have come to this.

          "Tabitha, wait!  I know being an X-Man didn't work out that great for you, and you live with the Brotherhood and everything, but that doesn't mean we have to fight each other, does it?"

          To her credit, Tabby looked genuinely sorry that she had to do this, but she wasn't about to back down either.  "Sorry Fuzzy, but that's the way these things work out sometimes.  I'll try to go easy on you."  She formed one of her "time bombs" in the palm of her hand and hurled it at Kurt.

          Kurt teleported out of the explosives path, reappearing behind Boom-Boom.  His whip-like, prehensile tail snaked out and wrapped around her ankle, pulling her off her feet.  Tabby landed hard on her front, grunting as the breath was knocked from her.

          Kurt winced, not at all pleased with his actions.  He didn't have much time to mull it over however.  Something caught his eye and he turned to see a playing card float gently through the air and land at his feet.  He blinked at it, attempting to discern its significance.  Then it began to glow, and Nightcrawler suddenly remembered the Acolyte called Gambit, and his penchant for making things explode.  Before his brain could complete the order to teleport, the card blew.  Nightcrawler sailed through the air, hit the ground, bounced, and skidded several feet, bringing him right into the middle of Sabertooth and Wolverine's slug fest. 

          "Elf!  Whaddya think yer doin'?!"  Wolverine yelled as Nightcrawler bowled into him, knocking him off his feet in mid-charge.

          "Ah…heh, very sorry _mien fruend_, I didn't mean to…"

          "Heads up!"  Wolverine shouted, grabbing Kurt and rolling, narrowly avoiding Sabertooth, who was inches away from landing on Nightcrawler's head.

          "Ya know Elf, the next time you want to…"

          "Wolverine, look out!"  Kurt yelled, grabbing Logan's arm and teleporting out of the path of two supercharged cards.

          "Huh, guess that makes us even, then."  Logan grumbled, as he and Nightcrawler untangled themselves to meet the combined charge of Gambit and Sabertooth.

          High above the conventional battle royal, Storm hovered, supported by the winds that were hers to command.   Before her, a monstrous creature created of roaring flames loomed.  Its master, Pyro, directing its actions from the ground with that sadistic smirk he always seemed to wear in battle.  The creature dove at her, massive mouth agape, seeking to ensnare her in its firey jaws.  Storm swooped below it, out of its path.  She then turned and summoned a rain cloud, directing it at the firey creation.  Water poured forth, drenching the monster, depriving it of its life-giving oxygen.  It sputtered and died.

          Pyro cursed loudly and decided to drop the creative approach.  Lifting both arms, he directed to jets of flame at Storm's hovering form.  It was all too easy for Storm to merely flit out of the way.  However, she allowed herself to become too overconfident, and failed to notice the flames curling around and diving back towards her.  She felt an intense heat on her back, and then her cape burst into flames.  Reeling in shock, her control slipped and she dropped a few feet before she regained her composure enough to detach the cape and let it drop to the ground, saving herself from being set aflame.

          So the battle waged on thus.  Sometimes the combatants faced off one-on-one, sometimes they paired up to battle their foes, but it was obvious neither side was going to score a decisive victory anytime soon.

          A lull fell over the battle as the two teams stared each other down.  Everyone was bruised, battered, bloodied and dirty, with the exception of Magneto, who hadn't participated in the battle, and Colossus, whose metallic hide remained unscathed.

          "It appears we are at an impasse, X-Men."  Magneto called down.  "But you are clearly the worse for wear.  Concede the battle, and you will be allowed to depart safely."

          Dream on, bucket-head!"  Wolverine snarled.  "Why don't you actually come down here and get your hands dirty for once!"

          Whatever Magneto's reply was, it was cut off when the ground began to shake violently.  All eyes immediately turned to Avalanche, but he looked just as shocked as everyone else, and was also fighting to maintain his balance.  "It's not me!"

          "No, it isn't."  Another voice rang out as the shaking stopped.  "I just couldn't think of a better way to make sure I had all of your attention.

          The door to the military facility had swung open and a man had stepped out.  He had brown hair, and eyes to match.  He wore a green and black outfit with high shoulders and fingerless gloves.  He swept his gaze over the assembled mutants and gave a contemptuous smirk.

          "An impressive display, and all for us?  How flattered I am."  He said, hands on his hips.

          "Who are you?"  Magneto asked, floating closer to the ground to get a better look at this new arrival.

          "Friends call me Julio.  You can call me Rictor." 

          "Are you responsible for the mutant energy signatures we picked up here?"  Storm asked.

          Rictor shrugged.  "Well, me and my friends.  Why don't I introduce you to them?"

          Rictor turned towards the low building and called off a list of names, one at a time.  Each time he did, the owner of the name stepped out, to varying reactions.

          "Marrow!"  The first of Rictor's team members was a girl who couldn't have been any older than Kitty.  She had short red hair that ended in a widow's peak above her forehead.  She wore a green and blue halter top, with matching pants.  She had a petulant look on her face that screamed "rebel" as she stepped next to Rictor.

          "Bishop!"  Next out the door was a towering black man who easily matched Sabertooth in height.  His black hair hung past his shoulders, and he had a stylized M tattooed over his right eye.  A holster on his back housed a very nasty looking gun of a design no one recognized.

          "Mimic!"  Mimic had no defining features.  He was fairly handsome, with blond-brown hair and a goatee.  The look on his face suggested he was bored with the world, and he appeared terribly disinterested with the proceedings as he joined the others.

          "Banshee!"  A high-pitched wailing emerged from the building, causing everyone to grimace in pain, and a figure came streaking out.  Banshee was as Irish as his moniker, with flaming red hair and startling green eyes.  He touched down next to Rictor and closed his mouth, ceasing the wailing, to everyone's relief.

          "Polaris!"  The young woman who stepped out next had a very regal bearing.  It also seemed that green was her favorite color.  Her entire costume, complete with cape was green, as was the lipstick she wore, and the mass of curls atop her head.  She glanced at the assembled mutants and gave a sniff, before joining her companions.

          "Psylocke!"  Every man present, girlfriends or significant others not withstanding, immediately began to drool at the exotic beauty that stepped into the afternoon sunlight.  She was of Asian origin, likely Japanese, and had a mane of flowing, dark purple hair.  Her body was of supermodel quality, and her "costume", if it could be called that, looked like nothing more than a dark blue one-piece bathing suit, with thigh high boots and elbow length gloves.  Even the odd, blood-red J-shaped tattoo over her left eye did not detract from her beauty.

          "And last, but not least…"  Rictor glanced around with a wicked smile, he was going to enjoy this.

          "Sauron!"  The crowd's reaction did not disappoint Rictor in the least.  Every member of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and the Acolytes, Magneto included, gasped at the monstrosity that burst out the door.  Supporting himself in mid-air by beating great, leathery wings, Sauron was a pterodactyl given human form.  Cruel, yellow eyes peered out from above a wicked looking, curved beak.  His skin was a sickly olive green color, and the expression on his face was one of pure malice…and ravenous hunger.

          Rictor nodded at his assembled team, then turned to face those gathered.

          "Ladies and Gentleman, allow me the distinct honor of introducing you to the new future of mutankind."  He indicated himself and his comrades with a sweep of his arm.

          "We are the Marauders."


	3. Proving A Point

Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own the characters in this story.  Although if Marvel was every willing to sell, I'd certainly be interested.

            A/N: Hooray, chapter 3 is hear.  Woo Hoo!  Expect a lot of furious fighting in this chapter as we get to see the Marauders in action.  Also, a big shout out to everyone who reviewed.

Morlin: To clear up your confusion, Rictor is a mutant who can project seismic waves.  He worked for X-Force when Cable led the team.

Dragonet: Will Sauron eat someone?  Time will tell.

Ethelyn: You're compliments are very much appreciated.  As far as Gambit goes, that will indeed be answered in a later chapter.  Don't forget about Sabertooth as well.

Anyway, it's time to start the show.  Enjoy!

 Professor Charles Francis Xavier, founder of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, sat in his plush study and wondered, not for the first time that night, how his students were fairing.  It had been some time since he had sent them on the mission to the abandoned military outpost outside of town.  He had yet to receive a report from Storm or Wolverine, or any member of the team for that matter.  That could only indicate one thing.

          They had run into trouble.

          Xavier sighed as he turned his wheelchair to face the large window behind him, offering him a view of the extensive property his mansion sat on.  Normally, the view calmed him when his thoughts were in turmoil.  But no such comfort was forthcoming tonight.  His students were in trouble, whether the cause of it was Magneto, or something else, he could not tell.

          He heard the door to the study open behind him.  Of course, Xavier knew who it was long before he opened the door, but he usually did not flaunt his mutant ability to read minds.

          The large, blue-furred form of Henry McCoy came up beside him, staring out the window in silence for a few moments before glancing down at the Professor.

          "You're worried."  He said.

          Xavier smiled slightly as he glanced up at his fellow teacher.  "Yes, I am."

          Hank turned his head back towards the window.  "They are very capable young men and women.  I believe there is not a situation they can't handle."

          "I agree with you Hank.  But if I don't worry for them, who will?"

          Hank smiled and turned, walking back to the door.  "I was about to enjoy a cup of tea, would you like to join me?"

          Xavier turned also, wheeling his motorized chair after his friend.  "That sounds delightful."

          Thirty miles outside of town, at a nondescript military outpost that had been abandoned for decades, a scene far less tranquil was unraveling.  A large group of men and women, dressed in garishly bright costumes, stared each other down in a tense moment, each person waiting for someone else to make a move.

          Charles Xavier's students, his X-Men, had recently been duking it out with their longtime rivals, the Brotherhood and their powerful back up, Magneto's Acolytes.  Then, all fighting had stopped with the arrival of this new group of mutants, the Marauders, who were a diverse group, to say the least.  Magneto was the first to recover his senses.

          "Greetings to all of you, I am…"

          Before he could finish speaking, Rictor turned, pointed his hands at him, and clapped.  Seismic waves leapt from Rictor's hands and slammed into Magneto's chest, sending him tumbling through the air.

          "We know who you are, Magneto, and we ain't interested in what you've got to say."   Rictor turned and glared at the X-Men.  "That goes for Xavier too.  Now, you can either all take a hike, or we can forcefully eject you from our premises.  Either way works for us."

          Quicksilver snorted.  "In case you losers haven't noticed, we have you just a tad outnumbered."

          Magneto, who by now had recovered, and was burning with humiliation, glanced down at the X-Men.  "A truce, in light of our mutual foe.  Agreed?"

          Wolverine didn't look particularly happy, but he also knew when to make decisions that benefited his team.  "Agreed."

          Rictor seemed quite unconcerned.  "We can handle twice as many as you."

          "Prove it!"  Lance challenged.

          "As you wish.  Marauders?  Let's show them how it's done."

          Sauron screeched with delight.  "Finally!  Finally I get my chance to feed!"  With a flap of his powerful wings, Sauron rose several feet in the air, turned, and went into a dive.  With his taloned hands outstretched, he barreled head first into Sabertooth, knocking the big mutant on to his back.  Sabertooth put up a fearsome struggle, but the moment he locked eyes with his attacker's bright yellow ones, all the fight left him.  A peaceful, soothing voice in his mind told him to relax, stop fighting, and all would be fine.  Then, a great weariness overcame him, and Sabertooth fell unconscious as Sauron's parasitic powers leached the energy from his body.

          There was a moment of silence after the attack, and then all Hell broke loose.  The combined forces of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Acolytes surged forward to do battle with the Marauders.  Their advantage in numbers, however, was short lived.  The Marauders were a well designed team, each member's powers complimenting another in some way.  Not to mention they functioned like the proverbial well oiled machine.

          Banshee took to the air and opened his mouth.  The air was once again filled with the wailing scream that gave him his name.  Hands were clapped over ears as those assaulted attempted vainly to drown out the horrible noise.  None of the Marauders seemed to even notice the sound as they began to mow down their helpless foes.

          Wolverine, whose ultra-sensitive hearing caused him the most agony from Banshee's sonic attack, made an easy target for Psylocke.  Clenching her right fist, the Asian beauty projected a glowing knife of telepathic energy.  With a single movement, she plunged the knife into Logan's skull, that adamantium powerless to stop it.  Wolverine howled in pain as every synapse in his brain was momentarily fried by the psychic intrusion, and he fell unconscious in moments.

          Jean knew that something had to be done quickly, or the battle would be lost before it started.  Gathering together her mental reserves, she struggled to concentrate through the haze of pain caused by Banshee's wailing.  Narrowing her eyes, she formed a bolt of mental energy and hurled it at the Irishman.  It struck dead on, creating much the same effect as Psylocke's psychic knife.  Banshee was rendered unconscious, his sonic attack finally ended.

          Cyclops shook off the lingering effects and immediately looked for a target for his eye beams.  The large form of Bishop proved to be perfect.  Raising his hand to the side of his visor, Scott opened up and unleashed the crimson fury of his eyes.  Bishop stood his ground and calmly watched as the deadly beam bore down on him, making no effort to avoid them.

          The optic blast struck home.

          And was absorbed.

          Scott gaped, unsure of what just happened.  The only person he knew who was unaffected by his powers was his brother Alex.  And Scott was quite sure he wasn't related to Bishop in anyway.  Scott prepared to fire again, when he noticed Bishop's fists begin to glow bright red, the same color of his optic blasts.  All at once, Scott knew what was happening.  But before he could do anything about it, Bishop thrust his arms forward, and Cyclops' power was turned against him.  The ruby beams arched forward, and would have knocked him sprawling, had not the hulking, armored form of Colossus stepped into their path.  The beams were deflected harmlessly off his broad chest.

          "I think this requires a more physical approach, comrade."  Colossus said, glancing down at Cyclops.  "Let me take it from here."  Although it rankled Cyclops slightly to accept help from the Acolyte, it was also painfully obvious that Cyclops could not hope to defeat Bishop.  He nodded to the hulking Russian, then trotted off to try and make himself useful elsewhere.

          Magneto hovered over the pitched battle, not liking what he was seeing.  Even outnumbered, the Marauders were proving how effective they were in battle.  He watched as his twin children, along with the X-Men Rogue and Storm, attempted to gang up on the Marauder called Mimic.  Mimic lived up to his name, however.  Once his opponents were in a certain range, he imprinted their individual powers on his genetic structure temporarily assuming their abilities.  As Storm attempted to blast him with a lightning bolt from her hand, Mimic dashed around behind her with a speed that matched Pietro's.  Before the African born mutant could react, he rained two dozen blows down on her from all angles, knocking her out swiftly.

          Wanda raised her hands, her fingers forming complex signs in the air, before she fired off one of her hex bolts.  Mimic raised his hand in response and conjured a hex of his own.  The two hexes met in mid-air and canceled each other out.  Then Mimic raised his other hand and fired off a bolt of lightning that caught the Scarlet Witch square in the abdomen, sending her sprawling on top of Storm's unconscious form.

          Quicksilver chose that moment to dash up behind Mimic and secure him in a full nelson.  "Hurry up!"  He shouted to Rogue.

          Rogue stepped up to the struggling Mimic, pulling her glove off.  Taking a breath to steady herself, she reached out and touched his face with her bare fingers.

          Nothing happened.

          It took Rogue a moment to realize what happened.  When Mimic copied her powers, it made him immune to them.  Mimic gave a sardonic grin, and then summoned a fierce wind to separate himself from the ersatz teammates.

          Magneto could see he was going to have to interject himself into the battle if he were to have any hope of salvaging the situation.  Turning his head, he spied a large hunk of rusting metal that likely belonged to some military apparatus at one time.  Reaching out with his magnetic powers, he grasped the slab of metal and hoisted it off the ground.  Pivoting in mid-air, he flung it towards Mimic, who wouldn't see it coming in time to dodge it with his stolen super speed.

          Inexplicably, the metal stopped in mid air.

          Blinking in surprise, Magneto looked around.  He spotted the green-haired woman called Polaris, her arms outstretched, pointing towards the slab.  Magneto's first though was that she was applying some form of telekinesis to hold the metal at bay.  But on closer inspection, he could see the earth's magnetic lines being manipulated around it.  And Polaris was doing the manipulating.

          So, the girl possessed magnetic powers.  Interesting.  Turning, he called down to her.

          "So, child, you seek to test your powers against mine?" 

          Polaris looked up at him, sneering.  "I hardly think it a fair contest, old man."  Then her face scrunched in concentration and she sent the hovering piece of metal flying back up towards Magneto.

          "Foolish child!  Do you think you powers can compare to those of the Master of Magnetism?"  With a flick of his hand, he halted the metal's trajectory.  Polaris strained to exert her will over it once again, but it was becoming quite obvious that her powers could not compare to Magneto's.

          Fortunately for her, they didn't need to.  Magneto was momentarily distracted by a shadow passing over head.  He looked up to see the silhouette of Sauron, and it looked like he was carrying a passenger.

          The man-beast dropped his passenger, and Magneto felt a pair of lithe, powerful legs wrap around his neck in a choke hold.  Psylocke raised her hand and manifested the psychic knife she had used on Wolverine.  Before Magneto could react, Psylocke plunged it into his skull.  Although Magneto's powerful mind could resist the psychic powers of Mastermind, Mesmero, and even Charles Xavier to a point, he could not shrug off such a direct attack.  Within moments, the powerful mutant terrorist succumbed, dropping to the ground like a stone.  Psylocke nimbly leapt to safety, and immediately went to find another target.

          Across the way, Rictor and Avalanche were locked in a fierce battle to determine who could shake the ground hardest.  The ground around them was already in pieces from their efforts.  Lance's eyes rolled back in his head, as they were prone to do when he was applying his power, and summoned up the most powerful tremor he could manage.  Rictor stumbled back and forth, fighting to keep his footing, and finally had to leap clear before he was crushed under a tidal wave of stone.

          "Well, I guess you win, then."  Rictor said, sounding mildly impressed.  Then he turned towards Avalanche, and clapped his hands, directing the full force of his seismic powers at Lance, rather than into the ground.

          Before the debilitating waves hit him, Lance felt two small hands grab on to his shoulders, and the next moment, he was sinking into the ground.  The seismic waves passed harmlessly through his head and shoulders and shattered a small grouping of boulders behind him.

          "What the hell?"  Rictor blinked, clearly surprised Lance was currently not splattered across the landscape.  Then something very large bowled into him from behind.  Rictor threw up his hands as he fell to the ground, but only partially succeeded in catching himself.  He still landed painfully on the side of his face.  He was about to push himself to his feet, when a great weight suddenly deposited itself on his back.

          "Sit tight for a little while pal."  Blob said as he shifted his tremendous bulk around on Rictor's back.

          "Somebody get this tub of lard off of me!"  Rictor screamed.

          "Yeah, right."  Fred laughed.  "Nothin' moves the Blob."

          "Perhaps you will permit me to try."  A harsh voice whispered in Fred's ear.  Fred turned his head and found himself staring straight into a pair of cruel, yellow eyes.  When he tried to look away, he found he couldn't.

          "Kindly remove yourself from poor Rictor."  Sauron hissed, boring into Blob with his hypnotic powers.  "It would make you very happy to do this."

          "S-sure."  Fred agreed.  His eyes glazed over and he slowly stood off of Rictor, who scrambled away the moment he felt the weight lift.  Sauron smiled wickedly, and then proceeded to drain the Blob of his vitality.

          Jean grimaced as she surveyed the battle field.  Things were not going well at all.  Storm, Rogue, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Magneto, and now the Blob were all down and out of the fight.  Sabertooth and Wolverine were only now starting to recover, their respective healing factors working to revive them from the treatment they had received at the hands of Sauron and Psylocke.  And the only member of the Marauders they had managed to take down was Banshee, and Jean knew her mental bolt wouldn't keep him out forever.

          Turning, she watched at Colossus attempted to subdue Bishop.  Bishop's futuristic weapon seemed to be having no effect on the Russians metallic hide.  Unfortunately, Bishop was incredibly agile for a man his size, and Colossus couldn't get his hands on him.  She then watched with dismay as the lithe figure of Psylocke crept up behind Piotr and struck him in the head with her psychic knife.  His organic armor provided no protection, and his cream was cut short as he slipped into unconsciousness, his metallic skin reverting to normal flesh and blood as he did.

          This Psylocke was becoming a problem, Jean noted.  She had already incapacitated three of her most powerful allies.  Gathering her powers, Jean projected a mental bolt at the purple-haired Asian.  Jean didn't expect her attack to knock her out, but she did hope it would get her attention.

          Jean wasn't disappointed.  Psylocke's head snapped in the direction the attack came from, and she began to stalk in Jean's direction, psychic knife held threateningly before her.  "So luv, fancy having a go, do you?"

          Jean was momentarily surprised to find that Psylocke, who was distinctly Japanese in appearance, spoke with a British accent.  But she quickly waved it off and fixed her with a stare.  "Anytime you're ready."

          Both girls closed their eyes, and their surroundings changed.  They were standing on a flat, featureless plane that spread for miles in all directions.  This was the astral plane, a place only trained psychics could access.  A place they could bend to their whim and do battle without damage to the real world.

          Psylocke remained mostly unchanged, except now, instead of her psychic knife she was clutching a deadly looking katana.  Jean's uniform had changed to resemble gladiator-style armor, complete with shield and long sword.  Psylocke gripped her weapon with both hands as she warily circled Jean.  Her movements were fluid and agile, as if she was trained in this form of combat.  Suddenly, she lunged, katana sweeping in from the side.  Jean raised her shield and blocked it, before twisting her upper body and swinging her own sword.  Psylocke parried easily, before dropping into a crouch and attempting to sweep Jean's legs out from under her.  Jean applied her telekinesis to assist her in leaping over the attack.  Her feet had barely touched the ground when Psylocke leaped at her with a flying kick.  Jean stumbled back, losing her footing and falling on her rump.

          Jean was dismayed to note that Psylocke was an exceptional martial artist.  Better than her by far.  Rolling to one side, Jean leapt to her feet and swung her sword towards Psylocke's head, hoping to catch her off guard while she was still recovering from her kick.

          No such luck.  Psylocke's blade jumped to intercept the blow at the same time her foot connected with Jean's shield, knocking it from her grasp.  Jean quickly realized her mistake.  She was no match for Psylocke in this type of battle.  So she decided to change the rules a bit.  Jean raised her hand, and a wall of stone jumped from the ground, surrounding Psylocke on all sides.  But Psylocke was not easily beaten.  She could bend reality just as easily as Jean.  Her sword slashed out, cutting through the stone easily, reducing it to rubble.  

          But Jean had used the intervening time to summon a large, multi-armed beast.  The creature, comprised of pure thought, bore down on Psylocke, talons flinging wildly.  Psylocke did not appear impressed.  Rolling to one side, she slashed upwards, severing one of the beasts' arms at the elbow.  While it was distracted by the pain, she leapt over its head, twisting in mid air and slamming her blade into its skull, dispersing it.

          Jean chose that time to appear behind her opponent, attempting to drive the point of her sword home.  But Psylocke had sensed her coming.  Dropping to her stomach, she twisted on to her back and planted both feet in Jean's stomach.  Jean doubled over, the breath knocked out of her, dropping he sword.  Psylocke scrambled to her feet, before lashing out and striking Jean in the temple with the butt of her sword.

          As Jean lay injured before her, Psylocke's sword vanished, replaced once again by her psychic knife.

          "Nice playing with you, Red.  But game's over."  And she plunged the blade into Jean's forehead.

          Scott took careful aim with his visor, waiting for the right moment to strike.  Pyro had Sauron on the ropes, keeping the energy draining pterodactyl-man at bay with bursts of deadly flame.  All Scott needed was a good shot, and one of their more dangerous adversaries would be out for the count.

          That's when he heard Jean scream.  Turning his head quickly, he saw her collapse to the ground, convulsing slightly, as Psylocke stood a few feet away from her, grinning.

          "JEAN!"  Scott took off running, all thoughts of the current battle lost.

          "Hey, mate, where do ya think you're going?!"  Pyro called after him, turning to watch him leave.  The moment of distracting cost him dearly though.  He heard a low swishing sound, and then scaly talons dug into the fuel canister on his back.  Kerosene gushed out of the holes, to be evaporated as it hit the dry, desert ground.  Pyro suddenly began to sweat.  With no fuel, he couldn't use his powers.  But he only had a few moments to worry about it, before Sauron drained him off his energy, and he slipped into blissful nothingness.

          Psylocke looked down in satisfaction at her handiwork.  Jean had the potential to be a powerful psychic, but she should have known better than to try and challenge Psylocke to physical combat.

          Psylocke blinked as she heard a shout, then turned to see Cyclops pounding across the ground towards her.  She crouched into a fighting stance, psychic knife flaring to life, when a brilliant beam of crimson energy poured out from Cyclops' eyes.  Psylocke leapt to one side.  She managed to avoid the attack, but she landed with none of her usual grace.  Grunting as she hit hard on her side, she attempted to roll onto her feet.  But a yellow-booted foot lashed out and slammed into her stomach.  Psylocke cried out in pain but rolled with the blow, utilizing her years of martial arts training to get her out of further harm.  Obviously, harming the redhead had driven the boy into a rage.  She back flipped out of the way of another kick, landing on her feet.  A flash of crimson was her only warning, and she barely ducked the optic blast aimed at her head.  She could swear she felt a few hairs begin taken off.

          Scott came at her, fists swinging.  He was being fueled on by blind rage, but that wouldn't win this fight for him.  Psylocke countered every one of his moves, and then struck back with her own.  Scott tried in vain to defend himself, but her hand-to-hand abilities far exceeded his.  A knee to the stomach, and an elbow to the back of the head put him out of the fight.  Psylocke smiled in satisfaction, then turned and found herself face-to-face with a very grumpy looking Wolverine.

          "You an' me got a score to settle, darlin'."  He said, as his claws leapt from their sheathes with a _snikt. _

          Lance and Kitty emerged from the ground, a few feet removed from the losing battle their friends were fighting.  Kitty grimaced as Scott, Jean, and Pyro were added to the "'loss" column.

          "We, like, so totally have to do something!"

          "What do you have in mind, exactly?"  Lance asked, waving a hand at the battlefield.  "In case you didn't notice, we're getting whipped!"

          Kitty frowned at the harsh tone Lance was using when he talked to her, but shrugged it off for the time being.  They had more important things to worry about.  She cast around for some type of solution, and spied Lance's jeep.

          "That's it!"  She said, growing excited.  "We can go to the mansion and get the Professor!"

          Lance looked skeptical.  "He's just one man, what can he do?"

          "The Professor can get us out of this, I know it."  She said, hoping she was right.

          Lance looked around again, still not convinced.  The Marauders had succeeded in taking down _Magneto_.  And he was every bit as powerful as Xavier was, maybe more so.  But then he looked back at Kitty, and saw her bright blue eyes pleading with him, and couldn't resist her.

          "Alright.  But, it's thirty miles from here.  Wouldn't it be faster to take the _Blackbird?"_

          Kitty shook her head.  "It would take too long to get it in the air.  They'd know what we were up to.  We can make a faster getaway in your jeep."

          Lance nodded.  "Sounds good, c'mon."  They turned to run in the jeep's direction.

          "Going somewhere?"  A cruel voice asked from behind them.

          They both turned to see Marrow standing there, holding what looked to be large knives in her hands.

          Lance narrowed his eyes.  "Try something, I dare you."

          Marrow hurled the knives in their direction.  Lance dove to one side, Kitty simply phased.  As the knives passed through her, she saw that they were actually sharpened spurs of bone.

          Kitty looked back at Marrow, and watched as she produced two more sharpened bones from her ribcage, pulling them out and brandishing them.  Almost exactly like Evan would.

          Lance raised one foot, prepared to stomp it down on the ground, when two glowing objects streaked in form the side and hit the ground in front of Marrow, exploding on contact and driving her backwards.

          Gambit appeared in front of Lance and Kitty, drawing two more cards from within his trenchcoat.  "You two go on.  Gambit deal with her!"

          The two nodded and took off for the jeep.  Gambit calmly regarded the redheaded girl before him, as he tapped into kinetic energy that lay dormant in the playing cards, bringing them to life.

          Marrow snarled at Gambit, not at all intimidated.  Raising her bone spurs, she charged the Cajun down with a fierce battle cry.  Gambit dodged her first two swings, then jumped up and over her head, tossing his cards down at her from above.  Marrow dodged one of the cards and intercepted the other one with one of her bone spurs.  She threw the other one at Gambit as he descended from his leap.  The spur tore a hole through his coat, but left him unharmed.

          Marrow's face scrunched in slight pain as she forced a long bone in the shape of a staff out of her back.  Pulling it free, she brandished it in front of her.

          Gambit smirked and reached into his trenchcoat, pulling out a small metal cylinder.  Pressing a stud on the side, the cylinder extended into his own staff.  Marrow rushed forward and swung.  Gambit brought his staff up in a counter, and the two weapons crashed together.  Gambit was momentarily surprised that Marrow's bone staff held up under his own metal one.  Apparently, her bones were much harder than they looked.  Marrow disengaged from their stalemate and swung again, this time going for Gambit's knee caps.  Gambit parried the blow off to one side, then spun the staff in his hands and jabbed it into Marrow's abdomen.  She let out a "huff" of breath, but proved her resiliency by recovering almost immediately, slamming one end of her staff into Gambit's ribs.  Gambit winced, but flashed a smile nonetheless.

          "Nice moves, petite.  You maybe let Gambit teach you t'ing or two."

          "Not likely pal!"  Marrow shouted, reversing her grip on her staff and swinging it in an uppercut motion.  Gambit leaned back out of the weapons path, then hooked his own staff around the back of her legs, cutting them out from under her.  Marrow tumbled backwards with a cry, losing her grip on her weapon.

          Gambit tapped her on the chin with the end of his staff.  "I win, chere."

          Marrow looked up at him, then a wicked smile crossed her face.  "Think again, tough guy."  She said, pointing behind him.

          Gambit frowned and turned around, finding himself eye-to-chest with Bishop.  Before Gambit could even consider bringing his staff around, Bishop pistol-whipped him in the temple with the butt of his gun.  Gambit collapsed with a groan, all the while cursing himself for letting his guard down, before slipping unconscious.

          Lance and Kitty jumped frantically into the jeep.  Lance started the engine, put it in gear, and stamped down on the accelerator.

          They kicked up lots of dust, but didn't move anywhere.

          "Lance, what's wrong?  Like, get a move on already!"

          "Don't you think I'm trying?"  He shouted, pressing the gas pedal as far as it would go, with no better results.  Twisting to look over his shoulder, he saw that Polaris had her arm stretched towards them, trapping the jeep in her magnetic grasp.  Grumbling, Lance pointed his own hand towards her, causing the ground beneath her feet to shake violently.  Losing her concentration as she tried to stay standing, the jeep slipped from her grip.  Lance and Kitty were thrown back in their seats at the sudden acceleration. 

          Polaris screamed in frustration and attempted to re-exert her power over the jeep, but they were too far away by the time she recovered herself.  She hoped the two escapee's would not cause any trouble.  Her boss would be most displeased with her for letting them get away.

          Psylocke leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding losing an arm to the claws of her vicious opponent.  This was not going well at all.  She knew, of course, from intelligence gathered by the Marauders, of Wolverine's vaunted healing powers.  But she had not expected him to recover so quickly from her mental assault.  Add the fact that Wolverine was every bit as capable a martial artist as she was, and Psylocke was not enjoying herself.

          She was already bleeding from numerous small cuts her opponents claws inflicted on her.  Also, any telepathic attack she attempted to make could not get through.  Now that he was prepared, he was able to summon up the psychic barriers Professor Xavier worked with every X-Man to develop.  On top of it all, any blow she managed to land on him usually ended up hurting her far more, thanks in part to his adamantium laced skeleton.

          "So you wanna tell me what all of this is about, darlin'?"  Wolverine said as he circled her, claws held at the ready.  "Exactly what it is you think yer all doin' here, an' most of all, who ya work for?"

          Psylocke spat, partly out of contempt, but also because her lip was bleeding.  "Those things are of no concern to you.  Yet anyway.  What you should be worried about right now is preserving your own safety.  Look around you!  You're the only member of your team left standing."

          With a start, Wolverine saw that she was right.  The members of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and the Acolytes were sprawled all over the battlefield.  The last bit of resistance from Nightcrawler, Boom-Boom, and Toad were quickly put down from a combination of Mimic's copying powers, Rictor's seismic waves, and Sauron's energy leaching.  And they were now all stalking in his direction, including Banshee, who had come around from Jean's psychic attack.

          Wolverine growled.  He had been up against some pretty tough odds before, but the Marauders had just leveled his entire team.  Not even _he had a chance against those odds._

          Rictor arrived on the scene, cracking his knuckles, the rest of the Marauders in tow.  He glanced at Psylocke and frowned.  "You don't seem to be doing very well for yourself."

          Psylocke sniffed and straightened up, her pride wounded.  "_You_ fight him hand-to-hand and see how well you do!"

          "That won't be necessary.  Sauron, if you would be so kind as to take the fight out of our dear Mister Wolverine?"

          "Certainly."  Sauron hissed.  "It would be a pleasure to feast on his fighting spirit."

          If the winged monstrosity expected Logan to give into him, he obviously knew nothing about his intended target.  Whirling, Wolverine lashed out with his claws, scoring a clean hit across Sauron's chest, drawing three parallel lines of blood.  Sauron screeched in agony, but Wolverine had already moved on to his next target.  Lashing backwards with his foot, he caught Mimic in the stomach, and then twisted into a leaping roundhouse kick, smacking Bishop in the side of the head.

          "Damn it, Banshee, do something!"  Rictor yelled, before a nasty head butt dazed him.

          Banshee once again opened his mouth and subjected Wolverine to the agony of his sonic scream.  This time though, the outcome was different.  Something stirred deep within Logan, and he began to see red.  The primal beast, usually kept locked away in the darkest corner of his soul, began to make its bid for freedom.  And the intense pain from Banshee's attack wasn't helping to keep it in check.  Just as Psylocke was reaching for him with her psychic knife, Wolverine let loose with a bestial howl and flew into a berserker rage, lashing out at anyone foolish enough to get close enough to him.

          Spittle flew from his mouth as Wolverine whirled.  Slashing and kicking at anything he could reach, the Marauders found themselves held at bay by one man after they had just overcome a team of nearly twenty mutants.

          Unfortunately, no one could beat the numbers gang indefinitely.  Not even Wolverine in full berserker fury.

          Rictor shook up the ground below him, knocking the savage X-Man off balance.  Polaris then used her magnetic powers to gain control over the adamantium that laced his bones, suspending him in mid-air, where he could do no damage.  Finally, Psylocke reapplied the psychic knife treatment, taking the fight out of Wolverine once more.

         Rictor made a show of brushing off his hands as he addressed his teammates.  "Well, I'd say, that with the exception of the two we let _get away_,"  He glared at Polaris for a moment.  "That went rather well."

          "So, then, what're we ta be doin' with all our wee friends here?"  Banshee asked in his Irish lilt, sweeping his arm out to indicate

          "What indeed, dear Banshee."  Came a new voice, deep and rich and dripping with malice.

          Every member of the Marauders snapped to attention as the pale man put in his appearance, stepping out of the military building for the first time.  He surveyed the battlefield, nodding in approval at his team's handiwork.  He stopped by the fallen form of Magneto and allowed himself a malicious smirk at the Master of Magnetism's expense.

          "Not so all powerful now, are you my friend."  He then turned his glowing red eyes back to his group.  "Congratulations on a job well done, all of you.  Do not concern yourself with the two who made their escape, I had hoped from the start someone would make it from the battle to spread the word of what happened here today.

          "As for the rest of our guests.  Leave them here.  When they finally awaken, assuming of course, any of them _do _awaken, they will know what has transpired here today, and that their time is short lived.

          "And now we depart to a new location.  This one is no longer secure."  The pale man then turned and, with his Marauders following close behind, walked back to the military base to begin making preparations for moving to a new base of operations.

          Soon, the battlefield was deserted, save for the fallen hero's who littered it.  No one stirred, save for one.

          Sabertooth, who was awake for the entire conversation between the Marauders and their leader, stood up.  His healing factor had finally replenished the energy taken from him by Sauron in time to see Wolverine get taken down.  That didn't make Sabertooth all too happy.  _Nobody pounded the sawed-off runt except him.  But Sabertooth knew better than to try and come to his aid.  He knew he'd fair no better alone against the Marauders than Logan had.  So he waited until they were long gone before getting to his feet._

          The feral mutant gazed in abject horror at the destruction wrought by the Marauders.  But that was the least of his worries.  For he had seen the face of their one true enemy, and it chilled him to the bone.

          "Why?  Why did it have to be _him."_

A/N: dun dun dunnnnn……. Oh no!  What is to become of our favorite mutants?  Are they all OK?  Or are Sabertooth, Shadowcat, and Avalanche the _only _one's left to deal with this new menace?  Well, that's what you'll have to stay tuned to find out, sillies!  Oh, by the by, expect the next chapter to be light on action.  You have _no _idea how difficult it was to write that giant fight scene.  I do hope it turned out alright.  Anyway, R/R as always, and stay tuned for chapter 4 of Mutant Dawn.  Cobra awayyyyyyyyy!!! 


	4. Aftermath

Disclaimer:  No own characters.  Durh. 

            A/N:  Howdy!  Chapter 4, woo!  Sorry its late, a combination of "Blackout 2003" and a night at the movies pushed back my schedule a bit.  I know its short, but hey, our heroes need time to recover right?  Right.  On with the show!

"Have you guys seen the Professor lately?"  Bobby Drake asked from his current position, sitting upside-down in his favorite chair in the mansions rec room.

          Samuel Gunthrie looked up at Bobby from the book he was reading, one hand brushing his blond bangs away from his eyes.  "Why d'ya ask?"

          Bobby righted himself in the chair.  "I just saw him with Dr. McCoy a little while ago; he seemed really worried about something.

          "You think it might have something to do with that mission Logan and the others went on a little while ago?"  Roberto DaCosta asked.  He was currently seated in front of the TV, badly beating Jubilee at the video game they were playing.

          "I think that might be it."  Bobby nodded his head enthusiastically at the breakthrough.  "We haven't heard anything from them in a long while."

          "Bobby's right."  Sam said, his voice tinged with a "good ol' Southern boy" accent, not dissimilar to Rogue's.  "They left, what, four hours ago?"

          Further discussion ended when the new recruits heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up to the mansion.  In the next few moments, Shadowcat phased through the door, in too much of a rush to bother opening it.  The students were rather surprised to see Avalanche following her.

          "Where's the Professor?!"  Shadowcat asked, wasting no time on greetings.  She seemed about two seconds away from launching into hysterics.

          Bobby blinked, and pointed to the left.  "Uh, in the kitchen with Dr. McCoy, last I saw."

          Kitty didn't even bother with a 'thank you', and merely rushed off to the kitchen, Lance in tow.

          Xavier and Hank were on their fourth cup of tea when the two teenagers burst into the door.

          "Professor!  Professor!  Quickly, you gotta, I mean, you must…"  Kitty had finally begun to run short of breath, and she bent over, gasping for air.

          "Kitty.  Kitty!  Katharine, please!  Calm down, child, and tell me what happened.  Where are the others?"

          Off to one side, Lance raised a quizzical eyebrow.  _Katharine?  He thought to himself.  It had never occurred to him that 'Kitty' wasn't her real name._

          Finally, Kitty composed herself enough to form complete sentences.  "We…we were fighting the Brotherhood, and the Acolytes.  And then, this group of mutants showed up.  They called themselves the…the…"

          "Marauders."  Lance supplied helpfully.

          "Yeah, the Marauders."  Kitty continued.  "They challenged us, and we all teamed up to fight them and…and…oh, Professor it was horrible!  They wiped the floor with us, every last one of us!  Logan and Storm and Scott and Jean and everybody!  Even Magneto!"  Kitty could contain herself no more, and finally broke down in tears, sobbing on the kitchen floor.

          To his credit, Lance looked like he was about to step forward and wrap his arms around her, but he stopped, unsure how to act in front of Xavier and the Beast.

          Xavier snapped into action with little hesitation.  Turning to Lance, he fixed the earth mover with a steely gaze.

          "Lance, I know we've had our differences, but right now I must ask for your full cooperation.  Do you understand?"  Lance nodded his head immediately.  "Good.  I will need you to show us exactly where this battle took place.  Hank, please go to the hanger and prepare the _Velocity _for take off."

          The Beast nodded once, then turned and bounded from the room.  Xavier looked back to Lance.  "Please take Kitty to her room, and then come down to the hanger, you remember where it is, correct?"

          Lance nodded, then reached down to lightly grasp Kitty's arm.  Still in a slight state of shock, she didn't even acknowledge him as she allowed herself to be led out of the room in a daze.

          Xavier watched them go, then turned his wheelchair and rolled from the kitchen.  On his way to the mansion's sub-levels, a sudden thought struck him, and he paused, closing his eyes to concentrate, sending out a telepathic message.

          _Iceman, Cannonball, Sunspot.  Suit up and report to the hanger immediately._

Avalanche slowly picked his way through the mansion's numerous corridors, drawing on the limited knowledge he had gained about its' layout from his brief stay.  Kitty wasn't any help, as she continued to merely stumble along in a daze.  She was apparently suffering some type of shellshock, having just experienced her first major combat defeat, one that could have permanent ramifications.

          Lance was more than a tad shaken up himself, but he did his best to keep it from showing.  Eventually, he managed to find the room he was reasonably sure Kitty shared with Rogue and guided her in, flipping on the light.

          Kitty crossed the room to her bed and curled up in the corner, clutching her pillow to her chest.  Lance made to leave, then stopped himself as he looked back at her.  Remembering that no one else was here, and there was no reason for him to keep up the tough guy act.  He walked over to stand by the side of her bed, then knelt down, grasping her shoulders and shaking her lightly.

          "Kitty.  Hey, Kitty.  C'mon Kitty-Kat, talk to me."

          Kitty started.  Lance hadn't used that name for her in months.  Hearing it now jolted her out of her funk.  "Lance?"  She asked, as if seeing him for the first time all day.  "What…what's gonna happen?"

          "I'm going to take Professor Xavier and Doctor McCoy over to where we fought."

          Kitty's blue eyes widened, and she sat up straighter, her hands shooting out to grip Lance's arms.  "No!  You can't!  What if the Marauders are still there?  You might get hurt, or ki…kil…"  Kitty couldn't bring herself to finish the thought.

          In a sudden moment of clarity, Lance realized what a jerk he had been up until now.  What use did he have for hanging with a group of mutants whose greatest goal in life was to foster hostilities between mutants and normal humans?  Was that supposed to make him proud?  Was that supposed to make him happy?

          "Fuck that."  He muttered.  What really made him happy was sitting right in front of him.  Things were going to change in the future.  But first…

          "Listen, we'll pull out at the first sign of trouble, okay?  We won't be long, I promise.  Just sit tight, we'll be back with the others before you know it."

          Kitty sniffed, tears threatening to brim over her eyes.  "You…you promise?"

          "Promise."  Lance said.  Then, with a smile, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.  With a final wink, he stood and left the room.

          After a few wrong turns, and some mental guiding from Xavier, Avalanche finally arrived in the hanger.  The Professor and the Beast were already aboard the _Velocity_, along with the three New Mutants whose presence Xavier had requested.

          As Lance stepped aboard and strapped himself in, and Hank lifted the craft into the air, Xavier glanced at Lance.  He already knew Kitty's condition, but for the sake of the other non-mind readers he asked anyway.  "How is Shadowcat?"

          "She'll be fine, I guess, as long as we all come back alive.  Professor, there's something I wanted to ask you…"

          Xavier nodded, but held up a hand to forestall further conversation.  "I understand, Lance.  We will discuss it in full when we have returned, but for the moment, I need you to give Dr. McCoy precise directions to the military outpost."

          Xavier was chilled to his heart at the scene that greeted him when the _Velocity touched down at their destination.  Signs of a terrible fight were everywhere, and the bodies of various members of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Acolytes were scattered across the blasted earth.  Sabertooth and Wolverine were moving around, keeping a weary eye on each other as they tried to rouse their comrades._

          Rogue and Quicksilver were already up and about, having received the lightest beating from the power-copying Mimic.  They were helping Boom-Boom and Toad to their feet, both still fairly groggy.

          Cyclops was barely awake, but still managed to drag himself over to Jean's side, who still had not recovered from her psychic battle with Psylocke.

          Gambit dragged himself to his feet, an ugly bruise was spread across his temple, reaching part of his forehead.

          The Scarlet Witch was the next one to revive.  With her frazzled hair, her appearance would almost be considered comical, were the situation not so grave.

          Colossus was lying on his back, his eyes open.  He was aware of his surroundings, but hadn't yet shaken off Psylocke's debilitating attack enough to get up.

          Nightcrawler, the Blob, Pyro, and Magneto, all the victims of Sauron's parasitic powers, had not yet regained consciousness. 

          The _Velocity circled the battlefield once until it received the all clear from Wolverine, then settled down on an empty stretch, kicking up a large amount of sand and dirt until its' rotors died down, and its' passengers disembarked. _

          Both Iceman and Sunspot were in their powered up states, weary of their surroundings.  They both kept glancing over their shoulders, as if expecting an attack at any moment.  Cannonball was just as edgy, ready to start blasting around at the first sign of trouble.

          Lance's fists were clenched as he stepped out of the craft.  When he walked slight, almost imperceptible tremors shook the ground.  The Beast came shuffling off second, long, hairy arms dragging slightly behind him.  Xavier rolled off last, shocked into silence.  He looked up when he sensed Logan approaching him.

          "Logan, what happened…how did this…?"

          Wolverine shook his head dejectedly.  "It was bad Chuck.  We never really stood a chance.  We had the advantage nearly twenty to eight, and they systematically ripped right through every last one of us, except fer Avalanche and the half-pint, o' course."

          "Who _were these mutants?"  Xavier asked, dumbfounded.  Surely the X-Men had been trained better than _this_.  And the Brotherhood and Acolytes too?_

          "I can give ya a full rundown when we're back at the mansion.  Right now, though, we got wounded that need taken care of." 

          "Oh…oh, yes of course!  Forgive me Logan I seem to have forgotten myself for a moment.  Yes, please see to it that the wounded are loaded into the _Velocity _and the _Blackbird_.  I'm sure Quicksilver and Rogue will be able to help you."  Xavier didn't bother mentioning Sabertooth; he highly doubted Wolverine's eternal rival would be of any help.

          But Sabertooth ended up surprising Xavier.  The results of the battle, or perhaps something else Xavier hadn't thought off, seemed to have put a damper on the normally volatile mutant.  Either way, he was of great help loading his fallen comrades onto the waiting air craft. 

          With Hank once again at the helm of the _Velocity_, and Wolverine piloting the _Blackbird_, the two air vehicles, both ahead of their time, streaked across the sky, heading once more to the safety of home.

          Professor Xavier rubbed his head with a sigh.  He could feel the headache coming on.  Across the room from where he sat, the Beast bustled about the med-lab, seeing to his various patients who lay sprawled on the numerous beds.  Even those who were awake were ordered to lie still until Dr. McCoy had given them a clean bill of health.

          Only Wolverine stood with the Professor now.  Hank hadn't even bothered with him, knowing he'd survived much worse.  Sabertooth also bit to bypass the medical testing, and he was currently occupying a corner of the room, looking gloomy and surly.

          "Alright, Logan, about these Marauders?"

          "Right, OK.  First, there was this guy named Rictor.  He seemed like he was the leader.  His powers were a lot like Avalanches'.  Then there was this chick with green hair.  Polaris, I think her name was.  Anyway, she had magnetic powers, though they weren't nearly as strong as Magneto's."

          "That should prove an interesting development in the future."  Xavier muttered.  "Please go on, Logan."

          "Well, then there was this guy called Mimic.  He's pretty self-explanatory, he can copy powers."

          "Like Rogue?"

          "Er, something like that.  Only he don't have to touch you to make it work.  Then there was Banshee, another self-explanatory one.  He's got a set of lungs that flamin' hurt.  Let's see…right, then there was Bishop, big ol' guy.  Seemed that whenever someone hit him with energy based powers, he'd just absorb them and shoot 'em right back."

          "That'll create problems for a good number of our team."

          "Yeah.  Then there was this girl, Marrow.  She had the same powers as Spyke, bones and everything."

          Xavier raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't interrupt.  Logan continued.

          "Then there was this chick with purple hair.  Psylocke she called herself.  She's a telepath an' telekinetic.  She's got this nasty little number she does with her right hand.  Forms a kinda blade out of psychic energy an' jams it right into yer head.  I had the distinct pleasure o' bein' on the receiving end o' that twice."

          "I see, I see.  This is getting more distressing by the moment, I'm beginning to see why you were all so easily beaten.  Is that it, then?"

          Wolverine shook his head with a sardonic smirk.  "Naw.  If that was the case, I think we coulda won.  But you ain't heard the worst of it.  I haven't told ya about the one that got to them."  He waved his hand, gesturing to a set of four beds, which held Magneto, Pyro, the Blob, and Nightcrawler.

          "Yes, I've been wondering about those four.  Just what could have done that to them?  Magneto especially."

          "Well, that was the handiwork of the one called Sauron.  Ugliest sonofabitch I ever seen.  Looks like someone spliced a pterodactyl with a human.  Anyway, it ain't bad enough he's got these hypnotic powers that stop you in your tracks.  No, then he goes and drains you of all yer energy.  Creed over there is the only one to wake up so far, and that's only on account o' his healing powers."

          By the time Logan had finished recounting the events of the battle, Xavier had a very bad headache indeed.  Deciding he had heard enough for the time being, he wheeled his chair across the room to where the Beast was bent over Nightcrawler's bed, holding one eyelid open and shining a penlight into his eye, with no response.

          "How are your patients, Hank?"

          The Beast sighed and straightened up, clicking off his penlight.  "Rogue and Pietro are the best off of them all at the moment.  They'll be up and about in no time.  Tabitha and Wanda shouldn't be too far behind.  Neither should be our friend the Toad.

          "The charming Mr. LeBeau has gotten himself a nasty concussion, but that does not seem to have hampered his attempts at sweet-talking Rogue."  Hank smiled slightly, revealing his fangs.

          "Ororo is going to have a few bruises, but I expect her to make a full recovery.  Scott, Jean, and the Acolyte who calls himself Colossus were all on the receiving end of some harsh psychic attacks.  Cyclops and Colossus are recovering slowly but surely, but alas, I have seen no signs of Jean regaining consciousness any time soon.

          "And as for these four…"  Hank gestured to the fallen mutants who had been the victims of the parasitic Sauron.  "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do except wait for their bodies to replenish to the energy lost to them."

          Xavier sighed as Hank finished his report.  He was definitely going to be making friends with the Advil tonight.  "It seems that, for the moment, we are at a severe disadvantage.  I can only hope our enemies have the courtesy to wait until we are at full strength before deciding to strike again."

          "Since when has that ever happened?"  Hank asked, though he wasn't expecting an answer.

Yeehaw, another chapter done.  I know that was a short one, but like I mentioned, this was just basically a post-humongous battle chapter.  Lot's more will be happening next time, as the identity of the Marauders' leader will be revealed! (for those that haven't guessed, that is.)  Also, I need all of your help on something.  Pairings.  Yes, I need your opinions on some pairings.  I already know the obvious ones, like Rogue and Remy, Kurt and Amanda, Scott and Jean, Lance and Kitty, and the like.  But what about some of the Brotherhood, or the Acolytes?  Don't forget the Marauders!  Bad guys need some lovin' too!  Let me know what you think in your reviews.  Peace!  Cobra awayyyyy!!!


	5. Hatching Plots of Purest Evil

Disclaimer:  Don't own these characters.  Nope!

A/N:  Welcome to chapter 5 of Mutant Dawn.  Evilness abounds in this chapter, as kidnapping plots are organized.  Thanks much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and for your pairing suggestions.  And now, on with the show.  Enjoy!

"Now this…this is the life!"  Calvin Rankin leaned back in the cushy La-Z-Boy armchair, kicking his feet up on the ottoman, hands folded behind his head.  "Why couldn't we have come here first, instead of lurking around that dusty old bunker for weeks on end?"

          "Because, you oaf, we didn't want to risk drawing attention to ourselves until _after we had proven our superiority over the city's self-appointed defenders."  Elizabeth Braddock replied as she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.  Her long, purple hair lay in wet strands across one shoulder._

          Calvin, alias Mimic, made no effort to hide the lecherous look he was giving the scantily-clad Psylocke.  "Well, _now we can draw all the attention we want.  That's a good look for you by the way."_

          Elizabeth sneered at him.  "You do realize how very tempted I am to fry every synapse in your brain, my dear Calvin?"

          "You'd certainly be doing us all a favor."  The green haired Lorna Dane said, looking up from her book.  "I swear Mimic, if I ever catch you peeping on me again, I'll shove a rusty metal pipe so far up your ass…"

          "I'd rather you not finish that sentence, Lorna."  Rictor said as he entered the living room with a newspaper rolled under one arm.  "That's not a mental image I need right now."

          The Marauders were currently occupying a very plush mansion, located on the so-called "big side of town."  The previous owner had chosen a location far removed from the rest of Bayville, which hadn't suited him very well when the Marauders came to call.  His body was currently cooling off somewhere in the woods.

          "Begorah, you all be acting like wee children, bickerin' away all the day like that."  Sean Cassidy said as he strolled down the stairs into the living room, brushing back a lock of his bright red hair.

          "Only in comparison to you, old man."  Calvin smirked.  Banshee was clearly the oldest of the Marauders, with the possible exception of their employer.  No one knew how old he was.

          "How's Lykos?"  Rictor asked Sean.

          "I'm just fine, thank you."  Answered a timid voice from behind Cassidy.

          Karl Lykos was a frail man.  He barely stood five foot nine, and couldn't have weighed more than 115 lbs.  His blond hair was thinning and fell in wisps over his eyes.  He seemed to have a permanent nervous tick, and his pale eyes were constantly darting around, as if looking for trouble.  All in all, he was the polar opposite of his monstrous alter ego, the malevolent Sauron.

          "I see."  Julio said, smiling.  "And your better half?"

          Lykos swallowed hard, evidently, he didn't like thinking about his "better half."

          "He's…he's restless.  He's clamoring for release, wants me to feed…"

          "I'm quite sure he will have plenty of opportunity to feed shortly.  But come, aren't we missing two of our number?  Where are Bishop and Sarah?"

          "Oh, you know how they are."  Calvin said with a dismissive wave of his hand.  Probably off sulking in their rooms, being all mopey."       

          "Is that even a word?"  Psylocke asked as she reentered the room, dressed in a far more modest pair of sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt."

          "It is 'cause I say so."  Mimic replied with his infuriatingly smug grin. 

          "So, what exactly are we t'be doin' here, then?"  Banshee asked as he took a seat, grabbing the newspaper away from Rictor.  "It's all well an' good we've got ourselves a right comfy little bungalow, but certainly real estate is not our new aim."

          "Whatever our next move will be is up to the boss and the boss alone.  Whenever he decides to show himself again."  Rictor replied, snatching his paper back.

          Xavier wheeled into the infirmary.  In the intervening days, it had been cleared off all its residents, save for Nightcrawler, Pyro, Blob, and Magneto, whom had yet to regain consciousness after being drained by Sauron.  And Jean, who likewise remained indisposed after her loss to Psylocke on the astral plane.

          Just as he expected, Xavier found Scott sitting by Jean's bedside, clutching her hand, and staring at her closed eyes, as though willing her to wake up.  "Scott?"

          Scott evidently did not hear him enter the room, absorbed as he was in Jean's unconscious form, because he gave a great start and looked around guiltily, as if he had just been caught at something he was forbidden to do.

          "Professor, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

          "I figured as much."  Xavier gave his first student a warm smile as he rolled his chair over to join him.

          "Charles, level with me."  Scott said, in a moment of familiarity he would never use in front of the other students.  "Will she be OK?"

          Xavier considered his words carefully for a few moments.  "Her mind is in turmoil.  She was soundly thrashed in psychic combat by another powerful telepath.  That can be extremely damaging to one's psyche.  But I know our Jean, and she won't give up without a fight."

          "Can you help her?"  Scott asked, a note of hopefulness rising in his voice.

          Xavier sighed.  "I am afraid she is a prisoner of her own mental barriers.  She is beyond even my help.  She must help herself."  Xavier watched his student absorb this.  "But, in the meantime, I'd wonder if you could do a favor for me?"

          Scott glanced at the Professor, eyebrows rising over his ruby quartz shades.  "What's that?"

          "I was wondering if you could give Miss Sefton a call.  I am sure she would like to visit with Kurt."

          "Can't you do that?"  Scott asked, clearly unwilling to leave Jean's side.

          "I'm sure she would appreciate a friendly voice breaking the news to her.  You can use the phone right in Dr. McCoy's office.  You won't be far from Jean."

          Scott looked down at the redhead again, then slowly and reluctantly released her hand.  "Alright.  Just because you asked."

          "Thank you, Scott."  Xavier smiled as he turned and wheeled out of the infirmary.  As he reached the mansions upper levels, it made him feel much better to hear his students voices again, often intermingled with some of their guests.

          Xavier had offered both the Brotherhood and the Acolytes a place to stay at the mansion while their leader remained under his care.  Sabertooth had declined immediately and departed abruptly, much to the relief of everyone present.  Pyro also chose to leave, though he had been far more polite about it, and said he'd be in touch.

          Pietro, the Blob, Toad and Wanda opted to return to the boarding house, saying they just weren't comfortable staying in the mansion.  Tabby stayed behind, and though it wasn't official, many felt like she was part of team once again.

          Lance also took up residence in the mansion, and was officially ordained an X-Man, much to Kitty's delight.  He kept his old costume for the most part, although an X was added to his belt, and he had finally discarded the fishbowl.

          The houseguests that were generating the most buzz, however, were the Acolytes Gambit and Colossus, both accepting Xavier's invitation.  Colossus seemed especially concerned with Magneto's welfare, but whether that was out of genuine concern for the man, or something else could not be ascertained, for the stoic Russian certainly wasn't offering any answers.

          Although the X-Men were weary of the Acolytes presence, the New Mutants, who hadn't had as much exposure to them, were quite taken with both of them.  The girls seemed more attracted to Colossus, with his quiet, sensitive nature.  He was also, as it turned out, an exceptional artist, and the girls were forever hounding him to draw their portraits.

          The boys liked to spend most of their time hanging around with Gambit.  Likely because the cocky Cajun was a born troublemaker, and took to passing on his wisdom to the boys like they were his wards.

          They would make fine additions to the team.  Xavier thought.  Now, how would he go about bringing them around?

          "Sefton residence."

          "Can I speak to Amanda, please?"

          Mr. Sefton paused for a moment as he considered the voice on the other end of the phone.  It didn't have a German accent.  That earned the owner a few points.  Maybe it might be a nice _normal boy asking for his daughter._

          "May I ask who's calling?"

          "Scott Summers, I'm a friend from school."

          Summers…Summers…the name was vaguely familiar, but Mr. Sefton could not recall where he might have heard it.  He couldn't think of any reason why he should be alarmed though.

          "One moment please."

          "Thank you."

          He was polite too.  Of course that other…boy…had been polite, right up until he and his freakish friend had destroyed the house.  "Amanda!  Telephone!"

          A pause, then; "I've got it Daddy!"

          Amanda put the phone back to her ear.  "Hello?"

          "Amanda, it's Scott."

          "Scott, are you alright?  You don't sound very well."

          "I feel even worse, but that's not the reason I called."

          "I figured as much.  What's up?"

          Scott was quiet for a few moments, evidently trying to figure out how he was going to say what he had called to say."  "It's about Kurt."

          Amanda sat bolt upright.  "What about him?"

          "He's…hurt."

          "Hurt how?"  Amanda was beginning to get highly annoyed.  Scott wasn't making it easy to get answers about her boyfriend.

          "He's unconscious, in a coma.  It happened during a fight.  The Professor thought you should know, and you can come see him if you like."

          "I'll be right there."  In one fluid motion, she hung up the phone, grabbed her coat, bolted down the stairs, called a good-bye to her father and was out the door.

          She was in such a rush that she failed to notice her father still had the phone in his hand, and that he had been listening in to her entire conversation.

          Hank poked his head into the infirmary.  "Scott, you have a visitor."

          Scott growled to himself as he glanced at the door.  What was it now, for God's sake?  Couldn't they see he just wanted to be alone with Jean, to be there for her when she woke up?  Whoever this visitor was had some nerve…

          "Hey bro, you're looking a little rough around the edges."

          "Alex?"  All of Scott's unpleasant thoughts evaporated as the bleached-blond, eternally tanned figure of his brother sauntered into the door.  "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"  he asked as he got up from his seat to hug Alex in greeting.

          "Wanted to surprise you, Scott.  The Professor seemed to think you could use some cheering up.  Said you had been run through the wringer."

          "Yeah, I guess you could say that."  Scott replied, smiling for what seemed to be the first time in days.

          Alex glanced down at Jean's unconscious form.  "How is she?"

          Scott sighed.  "The same as she's been the past few days."

          "Bummer, man.  I know how much she means to you.  But if I know Jean, then I know that as long as she's still breathing, she's still fighting.

          "Where is he?"

          Scott and Alex turned to the door.  Amanda was standing there, looking very winded.  Apparently she had run all the way to the institute.

          "Right there, Amanda."  Scott said, pointing to the third bed from the left, upon which the blue-furred Nightcrawler currently lay.

          Amanda crossed the room briskly and knelt by Kurt's bedside. She reached out to grasp one of his three-fingered hands in her own, her other brushing his indigo hair away from his forehead.

          "What happened to him, Scott?  What happened to all of them?"  She added, noticing for the first time Kurt's roommates, all in similar positions to him.

          "They've had their energy drained.  It happened during our last fight against a new group of mutants.  Except for Jean here, she's recovering from severe psychic trauma."

          Amanda turned back to Kurt.  "Will he be okay?"

          "Dr. McCoy says he's getting stronger every day.  It shouldn't be too much longer until he wakes up."

          Amanda leaned over to press a light kiss to Kurt's furry lips.  "I'd like to stay until he does."

          Scott smiled.  "I'm sure the Professor wouldn't mind at all.

          One by one the Marauders marched into the darkened room dressed in their combat uniforms.  They stood in a neat row, all silent at attention, even the normally boisterous Mimic.  Karl Lykos stood there too, trembling in the loincloth that was a tad too big for him.  Deprived of mutant energies (the Marauders were hardly about to offer themselves up to him) the reptilian Sauron had reverted to his human form.  The promise of a mission, though, assured Lykos that he'd have more sustenance for his alter ego soon enough.  He wasn't sure if that thought was comforting, or horrifying. 

          Before them stood the imposing visage of the pale man.  The man who was responsible for traveling the world and bringing them all together, plucking them each form one dead end life after another.  The man responsible for molding them into a formidable fighting group, who would herald his coming.

          "I have a very important mission for you, my Marauders."  He purred in his menacing, baritone voice.  "I must ask that you acquire something for me."

          "You just name it boss, we'll deliver."  Rictor said.

          "I have no doubt of that, Julio.  I know you would never think to disappoint me."  The pale man turned to one wall, where three pictures were tacked up.  Portraits of Scott, Alex, and Rogue.  "I need you to fetch these three mutants for me and bring them here.  I would prefer that they be relatively unharmed, but by no means is it necessary for you to take them conscious."

          "I recognize those two from the fight."  Rictor said, pointing at Scott's and Rogue's pictures.  "But what about him?"  He asked, indicating Alex.

          "Alex Summers is currently staying in Bayville with his brother, Scott."  The pale man replied.  "You will rarely find one without the other."

          The Marauders bowed.  "We go at once."  Rictor said, before leading the group out the door.

          "Good hunting, my Marauders."

          Rogue breathed deeply and stretched in the mid-day sun, enjoying the peace as she strolled through the mansions excessive grounds.  She was currently about as far away as one could get from the mansion while still being on the property.

          She needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of the mansion every now and then, especially while everyone was still recovering from their loss to the Marauders.

          Now if only _he would stop following her._

          "Ain't there laws about stalkin' people, swamp rat?"  She asked irritably as she whirled around.

          "Remy live under da same roof as you now _petite_.  Pretty sure dat means in don't count, _non?"_

          "And why exactly do ya insist on follwin' me around all the time?"

          Remy shrugged.  "You always runnin' off by your lonesome.  Figured you might like Remy's company." 

          "What on earth would make ya think that?"

          "Cause de _fillie's always want Remy's company."  He replied with his trademark, cocky grin._

          Rogue huffed.  "You are way too full o' yahself.  Ah, for one, am not interested in ya company."

          Gambit raised an eyebrow, his red-on-black eyes sparkling mischievously.  "If dat true, den why you blushin' _chere?" _

          Rogue blinked and then, much to her chagrin, discovered she _was blushing.  She prepared an angry retort, when the ground started shaking.  This only served to fuel Rogue's impressive temper._

          "Alvers!  This ain't funny!  Come out here so Ah can set ya straight!"

          "Avalanche has nothing to do with this, my dear.  It's something much worse."  Rictor answered as he emerged from the foliage, Bishop and Mimic in tow.

          Rogue took a few steps back in shock.  Marauders?  Here?  "Ah wouldn' sound so cocky if Ah was you.  Ah'll bet any minute the others are gonna respond to the alarm an'…"

          "Don't insult my intelligence, child."  Rictor interrupted.  "I happen to know for a fact that your mansions security net does not extend this far out."  He turned to glance at his comrades.  "Gentleman, you know the score.  The girl is to be taken alive.  The Cajun, well…we needn't be quite as careful with him."

          Bishop grunted in response.  Reaching behind him, he drew his futuristic looking weapon, leveled it with Remy's chest, and fired.

          Fortunately, Gambit was fast on his feet.  Darting to one side, he managed to twist away from the blast, letting it pass by him and obliterate a tree instead.  "Playin' fo' keeps, dis one."  He muttered to himself.  "Den Gambit play dat way to.  Gotta score ta settle wit' dis _homme anyways." _

          Reaching into his duster, Gambit extracted three playing cards from his ever present deck, charged them with kinetic energy, and let fly.  Bishop allowed the cards to impact on his chest, exploding.  Bishop's body absorbed all the energy with no harm done to him.

          Remy grimaced in annoyance.  "Forgot you do dat, _mon ami.  Guess Gambit hafta do dis wit' the hands on approach."  Reaching into his duster once again, he extracted the slim metal cylinder that extended itself into his staff.  With a running leap, Gambit sailed over Bishops head, landing directly behind him.  Bishop whirled around, but Remy's staff knocked the gun from his hands before he could bring it to bare and fire._

          Bishop took the loss of his weapon in stride, he was anything but dependant on it.  When Gambit's staff game in for a second strike, Bishop snatched it out of the air with a large fist, then pivoted on his left foot, planting his right firmly in Gambit's chest.

          The armor of Gambit's uniform absorbed much of the blow, but Bishop was a powerful man, and Remy was still knocked back a few feet.  Luckily, he managed to keep his grip on his staff, and he raised it just in time to parry the fist on a collision course with his head.  He then swept the staff in an underhand motion, nailing an uppercut blow to Bishop's chin.  The large mutant stumbled, but did not fall over.

          Gambit risked a glance to see how Rogue was doing, and was not pleased at what he saw.  Mimic had copied his powers, and was currently charging any small object he could get his hands on and throwing them at Rogue.  She was dodging the best she could, but Rictor continued to shake the ground under her, causing her to constantly lose her footing.

          Remy's mind began the task of trying to work out a way he could break away from his fight with Bishop to help her.  That was when a blast of energy slammed into the side of his skull, knocking him instantly unconscious.

          He had forgotten about the energy Bishop had absorbed earlier.

          Although Rogue was being kept suitably busy, she still caught the brief flash out of the corner of her eye.  Glancing sideways, she was just in time to see Bishop fell Gambit with a blast of stored energy.  For reasons she didn't want to think about, seeing Gambit toppled tugged painfully at her heart.  Growling, she turned her attention to the situation at hand.  She knew touching Mimic would be useless, he'd just copy her powers to make himself immune again.  Rictor, on the other hand, was a different story.  If she could just get close enough…

          It was not to be, however.  With Gambit taken care of, Bishop was free to join the fight against her.  Three Marauders against one X-Man were odds far too great to overcome.  Before long, Rogue was lying sprawled at their feet.

          "Man, I do hope it won't always be this easy."  Mimic complained as he slung Rogue over his shoulder.  "Otherwise, beating on these little X-Men will get very boring very quickly."

          "What do we do about him?"  Bishop asked, jerking a thumb at Remy.

          Rictor considered it for a few moments before shrugging.  "Might as well bring him along.  Maybe the boss can find some use for him."

          Scott and Alex Summers sat at a table at Scott's favorite outdoor café.  Alex had finally convinced his older brother to leave Jean's bedside for a few hours to get some fresh air and a bite to eat.  Now that he was out of the house, Scott was finding that he was glad his brother had convinced him to get away for awhile.  Though he was still worried about Jean, he knew if he didn't take care of himself, he'd end up in the bed next to her.

          Scott blushed slightly as his thoughts slipped towards the gutter for a few moments.  He brought himself back to reality when he realized Alex was speaking to him.

          "What?  I'm sorry, I spaced out for a minute."

          "I said, what's everybody staring at?"  Alex repeated, pointing at something over Scott's shoulder.

          Scott turned to see that the other patrons of the café were all staring at something and muttering.  A few screamed and left their tables in a hurry.  Scott stood to get a better look, and immediately wished he had stayed at the mansion.

          Polaris was striding through the café like she owned the place, accompanied by Marrow, Psylocke, Banshee, and a frail looking man Scott didn't recognize.

          He knew instantly that they had come here looking for him.

          "Who're those guys, Scott?"  Alex asked, coming over to stand next to his brother.

          "They're the ones who hurt Jean and the others."  Scott replied, fixing a steely glare on Psylocke, even though it was hidden by his shades.  He wished desperately he had his visor on him.  There was sure to be a fight.

          "Alright, let's get the pleasantries out of the way first."  Polaris said imperiously as she stopped in front of Scott and Alex.  "this is the part when you get a chance to surrender."

          "And this is the part when I tell you to go to hell."  Scott snapped.

          "Yes, of course."  Polaris sniffed.  "Well, you can't say I didn't give you a chance.  Karl?"  She glanced at frail man.

          Karl nodded and stepped up to Scott.  He was so taken aback by the man's appearance that he didn't think to consider him a threat.  All of a sudden, Scott felt himself growing lightheaded.  In front of him, Karl seemed to be changing.  He was trembling less, and he seemed to be bulking up.  His skin looked to be changing color too, taking on a darker tone, though it was hard to tell through the rose tint of his glasses.

          But then Scott caught his eyes.  Before, they were pale and watery.  Now, they were shining with a wicked light, obviously delighting in the violence that was about to be committed.

          Scott knew the eyes all to well.  Thinking quickly, he raised his sunglasses and blasted Karl full on in the chest.  The man rocketed backwards, but Scott knew he hadn't done enough damage to put him out of commission, he had lost too much energy.  Fortunately, he had stopped Karl before he could siphon off enough to complete his metamorphosis.

          The rest of the Marauders took that as the signal to attack.  Psylocke surged forward, psychic knife flaring to life.  She dove straight for Scott, grin on her face.

          "Remember me?"  She said, looking to thrust her knife into Scott's brain.

          "All too well.  I owe you double for what you did to Jean!"  Scott shouted back, ducking under her thrust.  He was still woozy, though, and the move left him dizzy.  He wouldn't be able to dodge Psylocke's knee.

          He didn't have to, though.  Two bursts of plasma slammed into Psylocke, knocking her into a table.  Alex spun and immediately targeted Marrow, blasting her off her feet before she could club him with the large, blunt bone she was brandishing.

          Alex, unfortunately, was doing enough harm to himself.  He had not yet refined the use of his powers, and he was already beginning to feel drained.  He was barely able to roll out of the way when Polaris flung a lamppost at him with her magnetic powers.

          Scott shook off his weariness and lifted his glasses again.  Twin beams of scarlet energy shot out, blasting apart the ground at Polaris' feet, knocking her off balance.  He prepared to take another shot, when Banshee's debilitating sonic scream tore through his brain, causing him to clutch his head in agony.  His brother did the same next to him, wincing as he tried to shut the piercing noise out.

          Psylocke extracted herself from the table, a very unladylike sneer on her face.  She took great pleasure in ramming her psychic knife into Scott's head.

          Karl stormed his way back over as well, reaching out to drain the last of the fight from Alex.  With a screech and a flap of his mighty wings, Sauron was born again.

          Across town, in the bowels of the Xavier Institute, Jean Grey jerked awake from nightmares plagued by purple-haired demons with swords for arms.  A single word formed on her lips as she regained consciousness for the first time in days.

          "Scott!"

          Scott Summers woke slowly, his entire body ached, though his head was the worse.  Panicking suddenly, his hands shot to his face, and he was relieved to feel his glasses still in place.  Opening his eyes, he took stock of his surroundings.

          He was in what appeared to be a basement.  From the looks of things, it had been hastily converted into a prison of some kind.  Bars were fitted over the windows, causing the sunlight that filtered in to have a striped look.  Off in one corner, a boiler rumbled away as it heated the house above it.

          Glancing around again, he saw his brother sprawled on the floor a few feet away.  Scott hurried to his side, ignoring the pounding headache the movement gave him.

          "Alex…Alex are you alright?"

          "Your brother will recover.  Sauron only took enough energy to render him unconscious for a few hours, he will recover soon."

          Scott whirled around at the sound of a voice he did not recognize, hand on his glasses, ready to lift them away.  The speaker was hidden in shadows, and Scott could make out nothing about him, except for the eyes, glowing blood-red in the semi-darkness.

          "Who're you?"  Scott demanded.

          A chuckle.  "My name, dear boy, is the very embodiment of who and what I am."

          "And that is?"

          The speaker stepped into the light.  He was an imposing figure, dressed in a dark blue costume that looked like it was some kind of armor.  His face, the only skin that was uncovered, was a deathly pale color.  One would almost call it white.  He had black hair that was cropped close to his head in a kind of buzz cut.  His red eyes continued to glow menacingly, as he smiled a smile full of malice.

          "I…am Sinister."

Dun dun dunnnnn!!!  Yes, it's true!  The diabolical leader of the Marauders is, indeed, Mr. Sinister.  Congratulations to everyone who guessed correctly (which is everyone, I believe, wasn't hard to figure out.)  So, what does Sinister want with the Summers Brothers?  What about Rogue?  All questions to be answered soon!  Keep coming with those reviews and suggestions to pairings.  Remember, pairings are not necessarily restricted to one group.  Rosters are subject to change after all.  Until next time.  Cobra awayyyyy!! 


	6. New Recruit

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own these characters.

A/N: Hello there!  Welcome to chapter six.  Got a few things to address before we begin the show.  I have gotten a few requests to list the ages of the Marauders.  Ask and ye shall receive.  Here is the official word on their ages in my story:

Sinister: Over 200

Rictor: 24

Mimic: 22

Polaris: 20

Banshee: 31

Psylocke: 19

Bishop: 26

Marrow: 15

Sauron: 23

Mandapanda: Bishop is indeed from the future.  How he got to be in my story will be explained in due time.

Etwa: More Pyro.  Check.

Jacombo: Where there is the Marauders, there will be the Morlocks.  That's all I'm gonna say.

Ethelyn: Sorry you're not a fan of Kitty and Lance. I always though they were kinda cute, so that's the way I made it. Thanks for the other suggestions though.

Viewer: I did not mean to neglect Nightcrawler, Boom-Boom, and Toad.  You must understand that I was quite exhausted by the end of that battle scene and was a bit anxious to end it.  They'll all get plenty of time in the spotlight soon enough.

Well, I think that's all.  On with the show. Enjoy!

Charles Xavier was in his study when Jean's cry slammed against his mind, hitting him like the proverbial ton of bricks.  He clutched his head, squeezing his eyes shut while he waited for the pain to subside.  When it finally did, Xavier maneuvered out from behind his desk and began making his way down to the med lab, calling to the Beast telepathically on the way.

          _Hank, come to the infirmary as fast as you can, Jean's awake!_

          When Xavier arrived, he found the Beast already hovering over Jean, who was holding her head in her hands, tears leaking out of her bright green eyes.

          "Jean, what's happened?"  Although Xavier thought he had a pretty good idea what was wrong.  Only one thing could affect her like this.

          "It's Scott."  She replied, confirming Xavier's fear.  "Something's happened.  I think…I think he may have been captured."

          "Was it the Marauders?"

          "I don't know, I think so."

          "Was Alex with him at the time?"

          "I do believe he was."  Hank answered.

          Xavier shut his eyes and sent out a telepathic summons to the X-Men to converge in the war room.  When he opened them again, he turned to the Beast.

          "Hank, please stay here with Jean."  He glanced across the room, where Amanda lay sprawled across Kurt's chest, sleeping.  "And see if you can't persuade Ms. Sefton to take a bed for a few hours."

          Hank nodded his understanding, and Xavier made his exit.

          When the X-Men were convened a short few minutes later, Xavier ran his gaze over everyone assembled, and raised an eyebrow in confusion.  "Where are Rogue and Gambit?"

          There was some muttering and shrugging of shoulders, until Storm spoke up.  "I believe she said she was going for a walk around the grounds."

          "And knowing the Cajun charmer, he prolly decided to follow her."  Wolverine added.

          Xavier sighed, and then tried to contact them each telepathically.  A frown crossed his face when he was unsuccessful.

          "I can't seem to raise them.  Logan, take Sunspot, Berserker, and Cannonball and search the grounds.  Storm, take the rest of the team and begin your search for Scott and Alex.  Start at their favorite haunts and go from there.  Understood?"

          "I want to help as well."

          All heads turned to see Colossus stride into the room, a determined look on his metallic face.

          "You needn't feel obligated, Piotr."  Xavier said.  "This is a search for X-Men, after all."

          "One of my comrades is missing as well.  I would like to offer my services to you in helping to locate him and the others."

          Xavier considered this, and then nodded slowly.  "As you wish, Piotr.  You may join Wolverine's group.  Is everyone clear on their assignments?"

          Everyone present nodded their heads, or muttered an affirmative, then split up to begin their respective searches.

          Cannonball streaked across the sky as he crisscrossed the mansion grounds, looking for any sign of his missing comrades.  The echoing booms of his kinetic blasting rang across the treetops, sending birds fleeing from their nests, shrieking in protest.

From his vantage point, he could catch brief glimpses of Wolverine, Berserker, and Colossus moving through the trees as they searched, and he occasionally spotted Sunspot as he flew his own reconnaissance mission.

          Sam turned his attention back to what he was supposed to be doing.  Having had no luck at his present location so far, he turned and shot across the grounds to the southern portion, closest to the main road.  He also happened to know for a fact that this isolated area was a favorite of Rogue's, and is she wasn't to be found here, then she wasn't anywhere on the grounds.

          As he approached his destination, he saw a sight that made his stomach clench up.  A small spot near the very edge of the property showed signs of a struggle.  Diving for a closer look, Sam took note of the broken branches, the upturned earth, and the black scorch marks on some of the trees.

"Hey, I think I got somethin' y'all."  He said into his communicator.  "Down in the southeast quadrant, near the perimeter." 

"We read ya."  Wolverine growled back.  "Stay right where ya are."

Cannonball did just that, inspecting the general area until Wolverine and the rest arrived a few minutes later.  Wolverine immediately set about prowling the area, pausing to sniff every few steps.

"Rogue and the Cajun, definitely.  *sniffsniff*  Hmm…Bishop too.  *sniiiiiifff*  Yeah, Rictor and Mimic.  Definitely the Marauders handiwork."

"What are we to do about it?"  Colossus asked.

"Go back an' report to Charley.  Then we wait an' see what Storm an' the others round up?"

"That's it?"  Berserker asked, bolts of electricity dancing across his clenched fists.

"You got a better idea, Sparkplug?"  Wolverine asked, raising an eyebrow behind his mask.  "I'm all ears."

Berserker took a deep breath and opened his fists, the electricity dying away.

"Didn' think so."

          Across town, Storm, Shadowcat, Avalanche, Iceman, Wolfsbane, Magma, Jubilee, and Multiple had a far easier time finding the scene of their friends' abduction.  All they had to was follow the throng of people and the TV news vans to a small café they knew Scott liked to frequent.  Dressed in their civvies to avoid attention, the mutants elbowed their way to the front of the crowd, where they were stopped by a police barricade.

The scene before them left no doubt what had happened.  Tables were overturned or smashed, chairs were strewn about, and various bits of food clung to walls.  There was definitely a fight, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was between.

"It must've been the Marauders."  Kitty said in a low voice as the group moved away from the crowd again.  "Who else could've done this?"

"I agree."  Ororo said.  "Unfortunately, there is nothing more we can do here.  Let us return to the mansion, and see what Wolverine has discovered about the whereabouts of Rogue and Gambit.  I have no doubt the two incidents are related."

Rogue woke to total darkness.  At first, she feared something may have gone wrong with her eyes, but as time passed, she was slowly able to discern shapes in the darkness, which meant that wherever she was, there was simply no light to be had.

Rogue stretched, then groaned as a few dull pains throbbed across her body.  Those damn seismic waves of Rictor's _hurt_.  Sitting back against a wall, Rogue tried to discern exactly where she was being held.  The air was hot and had a stale, musty smell.  That suggested to Rogue that she was in a room with little to no circulation, but with no light, she couldn't tell anything beyond that.

"Hello?  Anybody there?"  She called, deciding to see of she was alone or not.  "Gambit?"

Silence answered her.

"Ain't that just terrific."  She huffed, drawing her knees up to her chest and laying her chin atop them.  "Lord only knows how long Ah've been out.  Wonder if the others are lookin' for me yet."  Another thought came to her then, and she was glad nobody was around to see her blush.

"Ah hope Remy's alright."

          Kurt slowly opened both eyes.  His vision was still blurry and unfocused, from not having used his eyes in a few days.  The light around him was dim, and he was most thankful for that.  He very much doubted he could handle any bright lights.

          Turning his head to one side, he made out the shape of something large and blue hovering over him.  That could only be one thing.

"Dr. McCoy."  He tried to say.  Of course, his throat was very dry, and the best he could manage was a hoarse croak.

Hank heard him, however, and turned to Kurt's bed with a surprised start.  "Kurt!  You're awake, wonderful.  How do you feel?"

Kurt gave him his best 'Are you serious?' expression.

Hank cleared his throat.  "Ah, yes, of course.  I figured as much.  Still, that you've finally awoken is a good sign.  I expect the others should be coming…"

He broke off as he was pushed aside (an amazing feat, given his size) by Amanda.  She knelt at Kurt's side, putting her face close to his.  "Kurt!  Oh, Kurt, you're finally awake, I was getting so worried about you!"

Kurt blinked hard and forced his eyes to focus more.  Amanda's face swam more clearly into view.  He could see her worried frown, although her eyes were alight with happiness.  Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her clothes had that wrinkled, slept-in look.

"A…Amanda?"  Kurt swallowed to wet his throat a bit, though he had little saliva to do it with.  Hank saw his dilemma and supplied him with a glass of water.  Kurt attempted to grasp it, but when his trembling hands failed to hold it, Amanda took hold of it and brought it to his lips.

"How long have I been out?"  Kurt asked, when he was able to speak again.

"Six days.  Sauron really did a number on you.  You're the first to wake up."  Hank gestured at the still sleeping forms of Magneto, Blob, and Pyro.

Kurt glanced at the three.  His yellow eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to him.  "The others…?"

Hank was silent for a few moments, and then spoke slowly, as if choosing his words carefully.  "You all survived the battle.  Unfortunately, Jean here…"  He gestured towards Jean, who was now sleeping fitfully.  "…she felt that Scott was in trouble through the connection they share.  The other X-Men are looking into it now, but beyond that, I can't say anymore."

The Marauders again?"  Kurt asked, feeling his strength slowly begin to flow back into him.

"We think so."  Hank suddenly stared off into space, giving a look that suggested he was listening to something far away.  "The Professor has just summoned me.  You stay here and get some more rest Kurt."

Once Hank had left the med-lab, Kurt turned his attention back to Amanda, eyebrow rising as a thought occurred to him.  "Does your father know you're here?"

Amanda giggled as she stroked Kurt's cheek.  "I don't think he'd be very enthusiastic if he did, do you?"

"No, I suppose n…n…not."  The end of Kurt's sentence was punctuated by a wide yawn that revealed his fangs briefly.

Amanda smiled and leaned over to kiss his forehead.  "Get some more sleep Kurt, alright?"

Kurt could hardly protest, as he was already half out by the time Amanda finished her sentence.

Gambit grunted as he was shoved from behind.  He stumbled forward a few feet, and then regained his balance.

"Maybe Gambit walk faster if his ankles not tied together, _non_?"

Behind him, Mimic gave a smirk that clearly said he was enjoying this.  "The boss said we weren't to take any chances with you.  He knows how tricky you can be."

Gambit was currently being herded through the halls of the Marauder's stolen mansion.  His hands were fastened behind his back, and his legs had been bound at the ankles, allowing just enough movement for him to manage a shuffling walk.

Gambit tossed a look over his shoulder at the overconfident Mimic.  Remy knew a thousand and one ways to escape his current predicament, but he knew as soon as he made any move, a houseful of powerful mutants would be on top of him in no time flat.  Not to mention he didn't know what had become of Rogue, and he wasn't leaving without her.

"You ever gonna tell Gambit who de boss is?"

"Don't need to tell ya.  I'm taking you to see him right now."

The room Mimic led him to was kept dark.  The shades were drawn and the curtains closed, blocking out nearly all the light.  A voice issued from somewhere in the inky blackness.

"Thank you Calvin that will be all."

Mimic bowed his head, turned, and departed, leaving Remy alone with the 'boss' he had heard so much about.

"Welcome, Mr. LeBeau.  I hope you have not been treated unkindly."

"You seem ta have me at a bit o' a disadvantage, _mon ami_."

"Forgive me, where are my manners?  You may call me Sinister."

A single candle flared to life.  Though it did not cast much light, there was enough for Gambit to catch a glimpse of Sinister.

"Gambit think maybe you should go out in da sun more.  Maybe get a little color to da skin."

Sinister smiled humorlessly.  "Quaint.  I did not have you brought here to trade insults, however, so I will cut to the chase.  That you are here at all is a mistake.  My original plan did not call for your abduction.  When my Marauders brought you to me, my original inclination was to have you disposed of.  Then I though perhaps you could be of some use to me."

Gambit gave a derisive sniff.  "If you t'ink Gambit gonna work for you, den you can t'ink again."

Sinister grinned wickedly.  "Can I?  You are probably aware that I am also currently in the possession of the mutant called Rogue, yes?  Rictor tells me that you seem quite taken with this girl.  You wouldn't want anything to _happen _to her, would you?"

Anger flared in Gambit's red-on-black eyes.  "You wouldn'."

"Wouldn't I?  I warn you, I only need her alive for the first stage of my plan.  After that, well…"  Sinister made a dismissive gesture with one hand, as if to say 'I won't be responsible for what happens'.

Gambit stared long and hard into Sinister's baleful red eyes.  Finally, Gambit heaved a large sigh and looked at his feet, defeated.

"Gambit…he do what you say."

"Excellent.  I knew you'd see things my way."

Heya!  Another short one, I know, but don't worry!  Next chapter promises some good ol' fashioned brawling.  Stay tuned.  Keep those reviews coming.  Cobra awayyyyy!


	7. Being Misled

          Disclaimer: Do not own X-Men, no siree-bob!

A/N:  Sorry this chapter took so long.  Sometimes you just don't feel like writing, hmm?  Here it is now though for your viewing pleasure.  And, as promised, it features a good old fashioned slugfest. 

So, a few votes for Marrow and Toad to get the hook up, hmm? Looks like I'll have to consider that.  As to Kitty and Piotr, sorry guys.  For the duration of this fic at least, she will be staying with Lance.

Evo fan: What are you doing, reading my mind?  Some of the things you mentioned will indeed be included in this story in the future.  What those are is still a secret.

Tiamat11: Glad you appreciate how I handle so many characters at once. It's not easy.

Also, I know there is no Brotherhood in this chapter, but I haven't forgotten about them, so don't worry.  That's about it for my ramblings, so enjoy the show!

Scott paced up and down the length of his basement prison.  He had been doing a lot of that lately.  Not like there was much else to do.  His brother Alex spent most of the time sleeping.  Of course, that could've had something to do with their failed escape attempt, which resulted in Alex getting drained by Sauron.  It wasn't bad, Alex was already showing signs of coming around, but it made for a very boring day for Scott with no one to talk to.

          They only saw their captors when they brought down meals, or escorted them to the bathroom twice a day.  Whatever it was that Sinister had them kidnapped for, he was certainly taking his time going about it.

          Scott glanced over at his brother when he heard Alex mutter something in his sleep.  Though it was hard to tell, it sounded something along the lines of 'Polaris.'  Scott had noticed that Alex seemed to have taken a bit of a liking to the green-haired girl, which of course didn't please him at all.  He was still trying to get over Kitty and Lance, and now his brother appeared to be falling in love with the enemy.

          Footsteps caught his attention.  He turned to see Rictor descending the stairs.  Scott longed to blast the arrogant jerk through the wall, but he would rather not have Sauron making a light snack out of him, so he settled for glaring menacingly from behind his glasses.

          "Why so sour, Summers?"  Rictor asked, leaning against the wall.  "Never mind, don't answer that.  Anyway, the boss wants to see you."

          "About time.  I was beginning to think he had forgotten about us down here."

          "Wouldn't that be something?  C'mon now."  Rictor gestured to the door.  Scott climbed the stairs with Rictor trailing behind.  They were met at the top by Marrow and Banshee, who formed a tight circle around Scott as they led him through the halls of the house.

          Scott was eventually deposited in Sinister's darkened room and left alone with the evil genius.  The same single candle was burning, providing the only light.  Scott could see Sinister seated in a high-backed chair, red eyes staring at him from the semi-darkness.

          "Well…?"  Scott said when Sinister didn't speak after a while.  "You ever going to tell me what this is all about or what?"

          Sinister smirked and leaned forward in his chair.  "Forgive me; I just enjoy seeing you squirm a bit."  Sinister leaned back again.  "Now then, the reason I have gone to the trouble of acquiring you and your brother is really quite simple.  You see, I am a geneticist by nature, and I like to fancy myself a rather good one.  The fact of the matter is, both you and your brother hold some very interesting prospects to me, and I would like the opportunity to learn more."

          Scott raised an eyebrow.  "And I suppose I'm just supposed to let you do as you will, hmm?"

          Sinister gave a lazy shrug.  "Not necessarily."  Then he made a gesture with one hand.

          Scott turned around just in time to see a flash of pink, then relentless agony blazed through his head for a few moments, and he blacked out soon after.

          "I think you enjoy you're job a little too much, Elizabeth."  Sinister said, smiling darkly.

          Psylocke grinned and tossed her purple hair over her shoulder, before taking hold of Scott's unconscious form and dragged him from the room.

          Charles Xavier gave a great sigh of exasperation and, in a rare display of anger, hurled Cerebro's helmet across the room.  It didn't get very far, given that it was attached to various cables and such, but it did give off a satisfying *CLANG* as it bounced off one of the transistors. 

          Xavier massaged his forehead for a few minutes, attempting to dispel the frustration that welled up inside him.  Where ever Scott, Alex, Rogue, and Gambit were being held, Xavier could not locate them, even with Cerebro's help.

          Swiveling his chair around, Xavier left Cerebro behind and made his way down to the infirmary to check on the progress of it's remaining occupants.

          Kurt and Jean had been finally released, though neither had been called back to active duty.  Jean was constantly begging to help in the search for Scott, but Xavier did not want her to exhaust her mental energies in a fruitless search so soon after recovering.

          Kurt had been spending as much time with Amanda as possible, which was more than usual.  Her father had been strangely absent the last few days, having muttered something about a 'business trip' to his wife before departing.

          That left only Magneto, Pyro, and the Blob as residents of the medical bay.  Hank said their brain patterns were very strong, and they should all be recovered any time.  Xavier gazed at the sleeping form of his one-time friend and sighed.

          "Though we have never seen eye to eye, it pains me to see you like this Eric."  Xavier muttered, before turning his chair to leave.

          "You're concern is very touching, Charles."

          Xavier's head whipped around so fast, he cricked his head.  Magneto was staring up at him with his ice blue eyes, blinking slowly as though attempting to focus.

          "Eric, you're awake.  I must admit I was beginning to worry."

          Magneto raised his head slightly, glancing around.  It didn't take him long to realize where he was.  He set his head down again, breathing hard, having drained his limited reserves of energy in the one movement.  "How long have I lay incapacitated, Charles?"

          "Close to two weeks now."

          Magneto looked closely at Xavier, noting the worry lines that creased his old friend's face.  "What is troubling you, Charles?"

          Xavier let out a sigh, reminded of his earlier frustrations.  "Three of my students are missing, as is one of your Acolytes.  They were kidnapped, we believe, by the Marauders."

          Magneto blinked.  "I take that to mean, then, that after I was incapacitated, we lost the battle."

          Xavier smiled, though it held very little humor.  "Quite decisively, as Logan tells me."

          Magneto nodded slowly, his eyes falling closed.  "I need some time to rest.  My strength even now returns to me.  As soon as I am able, I will contribute as best I can to the rescue effort."

          "Do mine ears deceive me?  Are you offering to help _me, Magnus?"_

          "Don't sound so shocked, Charles.  It's quite obvious the Marauders are a threat to both our dreams.  I believe working together, we will be able to triumph in the end."  Magneto smirked.  "Then we can go back to our feuding."

          Xavier laughed despite himself.  "To think I'd live to see the day I looked forward to that."

          "Can someone tell me why, again, the boss has us memorizing maps of the cities' sewer system?"  Mimic asked, for what must've been the umpteenth time, as he poured over blueprints for the complex system of tunnels that run under Bayville with his fellow Marauders.

          "He hasn't told us why yet, dingus."  Marrow snarled as she studied her own plans.  "All that matters is that Sinister told us to, and when he says to do something, you do it."

          "Yeah, but, is seems so _pointless _just sitting here all day memorizing sewers when we can be doing more productive things."

          "I can assure you, Calvin, that everything I do has a point."

          Everyone sat up ramrod straight as Sinister strode into the room.  Mimic swallowed hard, sweating slightly at being caught contradicting his employer.

          "Ahh…aha…sir.  I…I didn't mean to suggest that your plans are pointless, I just…just…"

          "Calm yourself Calvin.  I realize that you all may be a little…restless, from such a prolonged span of inactivity.  That ends now.  I have a job for you."

          "What can we do for you, boss?"  Rictor asked.

          "You are to feed the X-Men false information about their captured teammates, lure them to a location I have selected, and make an example of them."

          The Marauders snapped off a salute, then left to carry out the plan.

          Sinister looked down at the sewer maps they had been studying, and a cruel grin spread slowly over his face.

          "I deal with _you next."  He whispered._

          To Hank McCoy's delight, the infirmary at the Xavier Institute was finally empty.  Toad and Pyro had regained consciousness shortly after Magneto.  Toad opted to return to the boarding house with the rest of the Brotherhood.  Pyro stuck around the mansion with Magneto and Colossus while the search for Gambit and the others continued.  Magneto had attempted to call Sabertooth back to him, but had insofar been unsuccessful. 

          The hunt for the three captured X-Men and one Acolyte was fairing no better.  The Marauders had done a superb job of covering their tracks so no leads could be found.  With no demands for ransom either, the X-Men were left quite simply in the dark.

          Xavier spent hours at a time connected to Cerebro, pouring every ounce of his considerable mental energies into the device, hoping for even the faintest glimmer that would give him some clue to the location of his missing students.  But they remained hidden from him, and each day his frustration grew closer to the bursting point.  Cerebro's helmet had already needed to be replaced once, for it had become dented from being repeatedly thrown against walls, control panels, or anything else Xavier could reach.  Charles felt that if this kept up any longer, he'd suffer a nervous breakdown.

          Xavier wheeled his chair out from Cerebro's chambers, a disgruntled look on his face from yet another fruitless session.  He was so absorbed in his continued failures, that he at first failed to notice an odd noise building somewhere in the distance.  As the minutes went by, however, he picked up on it and hurried to the mansion's upper levels, intent on discovering the source.  When he reached the main hall, he noticed most of his students milling around, looks of wonder on their faces.  Logan's expression suggested he was extremely uncomfortable.

          "I know that shriek."  He growled.

          For that was indeed what it was.  A high-pitched wailing that grew more incessant as the source came closer.

          And then Banshee appeared in the skies over the mansion, his form clearly visible through the large front doors.  The wailing died down as he slowed to a hover, looking down at those assembled before addressing them.

          "I've come teh invite ye all teh a wee get together.  Come teh the harbor at the stroke o' midnight.  Yer friends' lives hang in the balance."  His message delivered, Banshee turned and took off the way he came, his wailing fading as he receded into the distance. 

          As Storm gazed down at the darkened harbor from her perch, she was barely able to suppress a shudder.  The last time she had been to the docks, the Hungan had nearly succeeded in stealing her soul away from her forever.  Being here again brought those unpleasant memories to the fore.  It was a bit like her claustrophobia.

          Still, she had a job to do, and the lives of her friends would not be forfeit because she failed to act. Raising her communicator to her mouth, she whispered, "All clear.  No sign of the Marauders, nor do I see Scott and the others."

          There was a moment of silence before Wolverine's gruff voice answered.  "Alright, then we start moving in.  Keep sharp people, there are a million places for them to hide."

          Storm acknowledged, then clicked off her communicator.  Glancing behind her, she made a hand motion, then began to advance forward, moving through the shadows cast by large crates, calling on every skill she had learned as a child growing up in the streets of Kenya.

          Behind her, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Wolfsbane, Berserker, Jubilee, Magma, Multiple and Pyro crept along behind her, moving as silently as they could manage.  To have any hope of coming out alive, their plan needed to go off without a hitch.  Storm could only hope her group, comprised mostly of rookies, was up to the task.

          A few hundred yards away from Storm's position, Wolverine led his group into the wharf.  With Magneto floating along beside him, and accompanied by Avalanche, Jean, Sunspot, the Beast, Cannonball, Iceman, and Colossus, they were an imposing group, and that was exactly what they counted on.  The plan of action called for Wolverine's group to plow right in, making as much noise as possible to draw the attention of the Marauders, while Storm's group flanked them from behind, hopefully catching them by surprise.

          Logan turned to Avalanche and gave him a nod.  "Alright Earth shaker, let 'em know we're here."

          Lance grinned, then his eyes rolled back and he extended his arms outward.  The ground began to shake violently.  The old wooden planks that made up the docks rattled, some came loose and fell into the water.  Crates and boxes vibrated so hard they shifted across the ground slightly.  Cranes swayed dangerously, threatening to topple over and smash buildings beneath their long arms.

          They got the affect they were hoping for.  Punctuated by Banshee's horrid wailing, the Marauders came pouring out of the shadows, pelting for Wolverine's group.  Jean aimed a mental bolt for Banshee immediately, not wanting to give him a chance to debilitate them with this sonic scream.  Her attack bounced harmlessly off his mind though.  Frowning, she realized Psylocke must have established mental blocks for her teammates, as the Professor did for his X-Men.

          The point became moot, anyhow.  Cannonball launched himself at Banshee, and the Irishman became too involved in his aerial dogfight to worry about attacking the group as a whole.

          Magneto floated upwards, staring out at the creature known as Sauron from the confines of his helmet.  "Come, creature.  Let us pit our skills against each other."

         Sauron's beak curved upwards in a vicious approximation of a smile.  "Why go to the trouble.  Submit to me, and make things so much easier on yourself."

          Magneto smirked.  "Do not waste my time.  Your hypnotic powers are useless against me."

          Sauron's yellow eyes narrowed slightly.  "So it would seem.  Then perhaps we should do this the old fashioned way!"  With a mighty flap of his wings, Sauron propelled himself straight at the Master of Magnetism.  Magneto twisted his upper body, reaching out with his arms and clamping them around Sauron's waist as he flew past.  Holding tightly to the struggling saurian, Magneto grasped a pile of slim, metal pipes within his magnetic control, and used them to bind Sauron, rendering him incapable of flapping his wings.  He deposited the man-beast contemptuously on the ground, where he continued to shriek in protest.

          Psylocke looked about uneasily as Wolverine bore down on her position.  The last thing she wanted to do was get into another brawl with the scrappy Canadian, her last one didn't go off so well.

          Fortunately, she was spared the fight when a voice rang out behind Wolverine.  "Logan, let me handle her!  I've got a few things the set straight with dear Psylocke here."  Jean floated down beside her comrade, fixing Betsy with a steely gaze.

          Psylocke stared back, a smirk crawling up the sides of her lips.  "You want me to send you into another coma, luv?  Very well, who am I to refuse?"

          Wolverine glanced sidelong at Jean.  "You sure about this Red?  After what happened last time…"

          Jean sniffed.  "I've learned a lot since then.  I can take care of myself this time."

          Logan nodded, though a bit reluctantly.  "Alright, but you watch yourself this time."  Turning, he bounded off to find himself a fight to get into.

          Soon, the wharf became the sight of a massive free-for-all.  Banshee and Cannonball continued to dodge and weave in mid-air.  Banshee directed his sonic scream in its' most concentrated form directly at Sam, but the sound waves rolled harmlessly off Cannonball's kinetic envelope.  Banshee was far more maneuverable in the air, however, and deftly avoided Sam's repeated charges.

          Wolverine slugged it out with Bishop.  Unable to use his absorbing powers, Bishop attempted to pick Wolverine off using his futuristic firearm.  A deft swipe from Logan's claws, and Bishop's weapon suddenly became a sawed-off.  Tossing the stub of the gun aside, Bishop latched onto Wolverine with his large hands, heaving him upwards and throwing him with all his might into the side of a crane.  Wolverine bounced off with a grunt, jumped to his feet, and charged to engage the big man once again.

          Polaris used her own magnetic powers to free Sauron from his bonds, and the winged beast took off after Magneto again.  He was stopped when a blast of intense cold froze one of his wings to the side of his body.  Screeching as he fell to ground again, Sauron twisted so that he landed on the frozen appendage, shattering the ice surrounding it.  Iceman glided by on an ice slide, waving.

          "Catch me if you can ugly!"  He shouted, before sliding on.  Sauron took off after the boy, shouting about all the terrible things he'd do to him when he caught him.

          Marrow tossed bone after bone at the Beast, but the agile mutant was always one step ahead of her, bounding this way and that to avoid her deadly projectiles.

          "Will you hold still you blue gorilla?!"  She shouted as she whirled around to fling a bone shard at Hank as he leaped over her head.

          "If I wanted to become the world's furriest pin cushion, I certainly would hold still.  As it is…" Grabbing onto a protruding 2x4, Hank spun around it several times, gathering momentum, before launching himself at Marrow, planting both of his oversized feet directly into her chest, knocking her backwards through three crates.  "I'd rather save myself the discomfort; I take enough bumps and bruises dealing with the New Mutants."

          "So, I take it you want to play another round of who shakes the hardest?"  Avalanche asked as he faced down Rictor, fists clenched.

          Rictor shook his head.  "Naw, did that already.  New game, it's called 'I splatter you across the next ten miles'."  Rictor clapped his hands, directing a blast of seismic energy towards the stack of crates Avalanche was perched on.  Lance leapt away as the boxes dissolved into toothpicks below him.  As he landed, Lance directed a burst of his power into the ground directly below him, resulting in the ground rearing up in a circle around him.  The earthen waves rolled forward and crashed down, sending chunks of mortar raining on Rictor.  Rictor directed more seismic waves at the deadly projectiles, reducing most to dust.  A softball size rock slipped through his defenses, smacking him directly between the eyes.

          Rictor blinked, disoriented and fell over backwards, blood beginning to trickle down his nose from the wound.  Avalanche smirked at his handiwork and began to move in for the kill.  Rictor, however, was not knocked completely senseless by the blow.  Glancing behind him, he saw the base of a crane not four feet away.  Scrambling over, he placed his hand against the cool metal and began to pump seismic power into it.  The apparatus began to sway violently, then it tipped over and began to descend towards Avalanche.

          Lance looked up at it, eyes widening slightly.  His brain began to work furiously, trying to find a way out of this one.  Kitty was a part of Storm's team, and wasn't around to save his hide this time.

          With no better plan of action making itself apparent to him, Lance did what came naturally.  Throwing his hands into the air, he closed his eyes, summoned up every ounce of strength he could, and poured his power upwards to meet the descending crane, and hoped for the best.

          Colossus had never quite found himself in a situation like this before.  Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs caused by the glancing blow to his metallic skull, he focused his eyes on his opponent once more.  Mimic had copied his own ability to change his flesh into organic metal with exact precision, right down to eyeballs that could resist a .45 caliber bullet.  The two were now engaged in a heavyweight slugfest, metallic fists exchanging punishing blows, with neither gaining the upper hand.

          Mimic charged in, right fist swinging.  Colossus feinted to one side, locking Mimic's wrist in a tight grip, before backhanding him with his free hand.  Mimic's head snapped backwards with a grunt, but he was aware of himself enough to slam his boot into Piotr's shin.  Piotr's leg buckled underneath him, and he lost his balance, likewise losing his grip on Mimic's hand.  Taking advantage, Mimic grabbed Colossus' head in both hands, then slammed his knee into Piotr's jaw.

          Piotr's head rang, literally, with the force of the blow.  His vision swam for a moment, Mimic falling out of focus, but the Acolyte was still cognizant of his surroundings.  A steel I-beam, rusted from age and exposure to the salty air, lay just outside his reach.

          Feigning a look of pain greater than what he actually felt, Colossus rolled to his side, clutching his head and making a show about how much the blow hurt.  Mimic's ego appeared to be pleased by this, as he did nothing but stand by with a stupid grin on his face as he watched his opponent writhe.

          A grin that was quickly wiped off when five-hundred pounds of metal connected with the side of his head, actually _snapping _over his copied metallic skin.  Even through his armor, Mimic felt the blow rattle his skull.  Stars danced in front of his eyes, and then fresh pain exploded anew as Colossus slammed a double-fisted blow into his chin.  Mimic reeled backwards, trying to muster a defense, but Colossus was relentless.  A shot to the sternum, a blow to the kidneys, a devastating kick that drove the air right out of him, Mimic doubled over, coughing.  With a final, earth-shattering hit, Mimic was driven face-first into the ground, his skin returning to normal as consciousness left him.

          For all the fighting going on, Sunspot found himself without a sparing partner.  Wolverine's group outnumbered the Marauders by one, leaving everyone paired off in battle except for Roberto.  This, the more logical side of his mind reflected, was probably a good thing.  As it was night time, he only had stored solar energy to run off of, and that was finite.  Any exposure to prolonged battle, and he was sure he'd run dry.

          His eye's fell on Wolverine's battle with Bishop.  The large man with the strange M tattoo was putting up an exceptional fight against Logan, using whatever he could get his hands on as a weapon to keep Wolverine out of arm's reach, while simultaneously battering him.

          Roberto finally saw an opportunity to make himself useful.  Drawing on his limited reserves of solar energy, Sunspot powered up and flew directly at the battle.  Drawing back a fist, he let loose with a blast of intense solar energy aimed directly at Bishop.

          Bishop saw this coming and smirked triumphantly.  Tossing away the metal pipe he had currently been fending Logan off with, he turned to the incoming blast and took it head-on, absorbing it all into his body.

          Sunspot blinked.  "Uhh…uh…"

          Wolverine was furious.  "What in the blazes do you think yer doin'?!"  He yelled, flushing under his mask.  "Of all the moronic…!"

          His angry tirade was cut off when a blast of redirected solar energy caught him full on in the chest, lifting him off the ground, sending him flying fifty-feet backwards to land in the water with a splash.

          "Goddess!"

          Storm gasped from her hiding spot as she watched Wolverine get dumped in the drink by Bishop, who had turned his attention back to Sunspot, and the two were now engaged in a battle that involved them hurling solar bolts back and forth at each other.

          A few feet away, Lance lay unconscious under a pile of twisted metal that had once been a crane.  His plan had worked to a point; the application of his powers had slowed the crane's descent enough that it wouldn't crush his skull under its weight, but the impact had been enough to knock him out.  Nightcrawler and Berserker had been forced to physically restrain Shadowcat from rushing out of hiding when it happened, and she was now steadily ignoring both of them.

          Beside her, Storm felt a patch of darkness shift slightly.  She knew it was actually Kurt, whose indigo fur made it very easy for him to blend in with the shadows.  He leaned in and whispered to her.

          "I think maybe it's time to spring our trap, ja?"

          Storm nodded slowly and turned to face the rest of her team.  "Yes.  Now, we must proceed carefully, we don't want to tip our hand…St. John, no!"

          Unfortunately for them, Pyro wasn't made for sneaking around.  His already limited patience at an end, he had sprung from his hiding spot, laughing in that maniacal way of his, and was now charging down the Marauders, flame's spewing from his repaired flamethrowers.

          "About time we lit this shindig up, eh mates?!"  He shouted gleefully, directing jets of flames at Polaris.  The green-haired girl shrieked and grabbed a slab of metal in her telekinetic grip, raising it in front of her like a shield.  With a mental jerk, Pyro directed the flames up and over the barrier, twisting them into a hellish version of a cobra, rearing to strike.  Polaris sent the sheet metal tumbling end over end at Pyro.  The distraction succeeded in breaking his concentration, and the flame serpent dissolved.  Leaping out of the way, Pyro rolled for cover behind a crate.  Peeking over, he shot more flames in Polaris' direction, twisting them into a circle, where they surrounded her, rising into an impenetrable wall.

          By now, Storm's group of mutants had joined the fray.  Rahne shifted into her four-legged wolf form and pounced, snarling, on a very surprised Marrow, who was still attempting to skewer the Beast on her bone shards.

          Kurt teleported from where he crouched, hidden, directly in front of Rictor.  He was so surprised at the fuzzy elf's appearance that he didn't even think to try using his powers against him.  His moment of indecision served Kurt well.  With an agile back flip, Nightcrawler slammed both his feet into Rictor's jaw.

          Rictor stumbled backwards, dazed from the blow, and bumped right into Jamie.  Immediately, there were six more Jamie's.  All seven of them piled on top of Rictor, clutching his arms and legs, making it quite difficult to move.

          Geroff me you little monkeys!"  He shouted, attempting to dislodge them with violent seismic quakes.  Unfortunately, every time he jostled on of the Jamie's into another, two more popped up.  Within moments, he was buried under a mountain of Multiple's.

          Sauron flapped mightily, screeching in protest as his prey, Iceman, continued to evade him, constantly slipping out of his grasp with the ease of his namesake.  More than once, Sauron had attempted to subdue him with his hypnotic powers, but Bobby's youthful exuberance provided an excellent countermeasure.  Calming down was just not something the Master of Pranks did.

          "What's the matter ugly?  Not wearing you out am I?"  Iceman called as he slid by Sauron on his slide, going the opposite direction, forcing the reptilian beast to change direction again.

          "I shall enjoy feasting on you abundance of energy, child!"  Sauron screeched as he whirled in mid-air, changing his trajectory to pursue Iceman again.

          "Aahh, idle threats.  Gotta _catch me first!"  Bobby stuck his icy tongue out at Sauron before going into a dive, then twisting in a corkscrew fashion to further throw off his pursuer, and climbing again._

          Sauron made to turn again and continue his pursuit, when a sudden jolt of electricity shot through his nervous system, momentarily robbing him of his mobility.  Tumbling downwards, he passed by a triumphant looking Berserker, before crashing headlong into a pile of wooden planks.

          Jean and Psylocke stood rooted to the spot, eyes closed, sweat running down their foreheads as they concentrated on the mental tug-of-war they were engaged in.  The battle raged around them, as Shadowcat came to Sunspot's aid against Bishop, and Magma helped Cannonball battle Banshee.

          Finally, both women broke away from their mental stalemate, breathing hard.

          "Well, I see you _have _managed to improve greatly since the last time I whipped you."  Psylocke said, brushing away sweat-soaked bangs from her pretty face, revealing once again the red tattoo in the shape of a J over her left eye.  "That's okay though, I'd much rather do this in a more personal fashion."  Psylocke leaped straight at Jean, foot extended forward in a kick.  Jean floated up out of the way, allowing Psylocke to pass under her.  Betsy hit a crate, rebounded, and directed her trajectory upwards, catching Jean unprepared in the back.  Jean tumbled forward with a cry, but managed to snag Psylocke in her mental grasp, sending the Japanese girl with the British accent slamming gracelessly into the hard wood of the docks.

          "Since I couldn't drag the answer out of your mind, I'll ask you up front, where's Scott?"

          Psylocke pushed herself to her feet, tossing her hair over one shoulder with a contemptuous flick of her head.

          "He's not here.  Nor are any of your other friends.  We laid out a trap for you, and you, being your predictable selves, stumbled right in.  Now, I think it's time you met our ace in the hole!"

          Jean caught a bright, reddish-pink glow out of the corner of her eye.  She twisted her head in time to see four small objects streaking in before they slammed into the ground at her feet.  Exploding on Impact, Jean was sent hurtling backwards, straight into Nightcrawler.

          All activity stopped.  The Marauders all smirked knowingly.  The X-Men stared in shocked horror at the spot where the blast had originated from.

          Standing there, silhouetted against the moonlight, trenchcoat flapping in the gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean, and wearing a morose expression on his face, was Gambit.

          Reaching into his coat, he pulled out three more playing cards, which began to glow ominously in his hands.

          "Sorry, _mon ami's," He said in a quiet voice.  "But Gambit, he don' have no say in da matter."  Then, with a flick of his wrist, he hurled the cards at his friends._

Ah yes, nothing like a good brawl to get the blood pumping, hmm?  So, Gambit has been forced into combat against the people he's supposed to be allies with.  He must really care for Rogue to do that, hmm?  Wonder what else Sinister will make him do.  You don't think it would have anything to do with those maps the Marauders were studying, do you?  No…he wouldn't…

Well, that's what you'll have to find out in later chapters.  Until then, reviews are great.  Cobra awayyyyy!


	8. Evil Wears A Human Face

Disclaimer: How I wish I owned these characters. But alas, it is not to be.

          A/N: Hi there!  Welcome back to the ongoing saga of Mutant Dawn!  There's a little Brotherhood action in this chapter.  Not a whole lot, mind you, but it leads up to plenty in later chapters!

To the person who submitted a review with no name: Well, the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Acolytes were _supposed to lose.  If they kicked the Marauders' butts right away, it wouldn't make for an interesting story, now would it?_

Morlin: Well, he does call himself Sinister for a reason.  I'm glad you liked Xavier's and Magnus' conversation, dialogue between those two is always fun to write.  Background on the Marauders, hmm?  You're in luck.  Bishop's past (or is that future) will be catching up with him very soon.  The history of the others will begin to trickle down soon after.

Original: Doesn't everyone like Romyness?  More of that soon.

Princess-Pixie-Sugar-Stix:  You like Pyro too, huh?  We'll have to see what we can do, then.

Kasey:  I thought the New Mutants could use a workout.  They'll play bigger rolls in the chapters to come.

The X-Men stood frozen in shock for a good ten seconds.  The battle had been going so well, and now they find out someone who was supposed to be their ally suddenly turn up working for the enemy without the slightest warning.

          Magneto was the first to recover.  "Gambit, what is the meaning of this?"  He asked, sounding irate.

          "Like Gambit tell you, he don' have a choice.  Somethin' bad happen ta someone if Remy don' cooperate."

          "What kind of an excuse is that?"

          "You one ta talk!"  Gambit spat, rounding angrily on the Master of Magnetism.  "How you gonna say somethin' like dat, when yer doin' almost teh exact same t'ing ta Piotr!"

          Silence reigned.  Though it was impossible to tell for sure with his helmet on, Magneto adopted the air of someone slapped across the face.  Colossus, whose metallic face was normally inscrutable, now looked decidedly uneasy.  The X-Men stared back and forth between Magneto and his former Acolyte.  Even the Marauders seemed caught out for the moment.

          Then, Magneto's hand balled into a fist, and roughly fifty metal pipes lying in a pile nearby rose into the air, all pointed straight at Gambit.

          "How _dare you!"  Magneto hissed.  With a wave of his hand, the deadly missiles shot through the air towards Remy.  Remy dove off of the crate he was standing on, letting the pipes sail by overhead._

          Rictor, having finally managed to extricate himself from the mountain of Jamie's, made a beeline for Mimic's fallen form.  Bending down, he tossed the unconscious mutant over his shoulders.

          "Marauders!  I think we made our point.  Banshee, cover out retreat!"

          Taking a deep breath, Banshee let loose with one of his loudest sonic screams yet.  The X-Men clamped their hands over their ears, all the while Hank thinking he absolutely _must find a way to counteract the attack._

          With their enemies incapacitated, the Marauders plus Gambit made their hasty retreat.  That is, after Bishop dug the unconscious form of Karl Lykos out from under the crates he had fallen into as Sauron earlier.

          When Banshee's wailing faded into the distance, Magneto whirled on his two remaining Acolytes.  "Piotr, St. John, we return to base immediately!"

          Piotr nodded obligingly.  St. John, however, cleared his voice, before speaking slightly nervously.

          "A…actually, if'n it's all the same ta you, mate, I'd…I'd rather like ta be stayin' at the Institute…"

          Magneto's eyes flashed dangerously, and his hand twitched once.  Pyro's fuel tank collapsed in on itself, leaking kerosene onto the docks.  "You'd like to _what_, St. John?"

          St. John swallowed.  "N…nothin'." 

          Nodding, Magneto turned towards Storm.  "Please thank Charles for his hospitality on my behalf."  Waving his hand, he extended his sphere of Magnetic influence to include Colossus and Pyro, and towed them along with him as he made his exit.

          None of the X-Men knew what to do or say, so they stood around in silence for the next few minutes.  The funk was broken when they heard a splash from behind them, and someone swearing under their breath.

          They turned to see Wolverine pulling himself out of the water, dripping wet and looking irate.  He glanced around at his teammates and let out a snort.

          "Don't tell me we lost _again_?"

          Everyone grumbled something or another.  Then, Kitty's head shot up.  "Oh my god…Lance!"  Finally noticing that her boyfriend wasn't among the group, she looked around wildly for him.  Finally spotting him under the wreckage of the crane, she scrambled over, kneeling next to him.

          "Lance…Lance!  You better wake up you big, dumb jerk, you hear me?!"  She was sounding a bit hysterical, but she needn't have worried.  Lance was already coming to.

          Logan heaved a long-suffering sigh.  "I'll got get the _Velocity."  He growled half-heartedly._

          _An attic!  Ah can't believe they stuck me in a stinkin' attic!  This thought crossed Rogue's mind at least three times a day.  For that, she had finally deduced, is exactly where the Marauders had locked her up.  In a dusty, moldy attic._

          The only person she ever saw was Mimic.  The Marauders couldn't afford to send anyone else up to bring her meals, or escort her to the bathroom, because none of them could negate her powers like Mimic could.  Rogue had quickly come to hate him.  Not simply by virtue of him being the enemy.  No, even if Mimic was an X-Man, she was quite sure she'd still hate him.

          Mimic went out of his way to be a pain in the ass.  Making snide comments, or lewd remarks.  So when the trapdoor to the attic opened, she took a breath to begin an angry tirade.  But the breath died in her throat when a wholly different figure emerged into the semi-darkness.  Rogue had never actually seen the man before, but she had heard Mimic talk about him enough.  This could only be one person.

          Sinister stared at her for a few minutes, red eyes glowing eerily in the low light.

          "Well, ya got somethin' ta say?  Maybe tell me why ya've gone ta the trouble of keepin' me locked up here fer who knows how long, an' not done a single thing with?"

          Sinister smiled, inclining his head slightly at Rogue.  "My apologies for having kept you waiting for so long.  I have had several other pressing issues to attend to and just couldn't make time for you.  Now, though, it is time to rectify that."

          "How very honored Ah am."  Rogue snapped, one hand reaching towards the other to remove the glove that covered it.

          Sinister saw this, and his smile widened.  "I would strongly advise against that course of action.  Were you to succeed in absorbing me, I daresay you would find my memories far too much for your fragile little mind to handle."

          Rogue scowled and moved her hand away.  "Well?  What part am Ah ta play in yer 'grand scheme'?"

          "You surprise me, Rogue.  I was under the impression you were rather intelligent.  I should think it would be quite obvious.  Your particular mutation is of great interest to me."

          Rogue's scowl deepened.  "Why would that be?"

          "I think I could make use of a power like yours. To absorb other mutants powers at a touch.  That holds great prospects to me."

          "So why don't ya experiment on Mimic?  He can copy powers."

          Sinister shook his head.  "Ah but, you see my dear, Mimic is not a mutant.  His powers are the result of a laboratory accident in his youth, one nobody has been able to duplicate.  I need mutant genes, like yours."

          "For what reason?"

          "Now, I can't give away _all _my secrets.  Where would the fun be?  I will say though, I do relish the challenge in finding a way to get past that whole 'can't-be-touched' hurtle, as that poses a problem to my experimentation."

          Rogue stared at Sinister for a few moments, speechless.  What did he mean 'get past that hurtle'?  Could it be possible that she could…?

          "It can't be done."  She finally said.

          "You will find, my dear, that when it comes to genetics there is very little I cannot do."  Sinister winked at her, then turned and headed for the door.  "I will send Mimic to fetch you in due time."  He called back to her, before disappearing downstairs.   

          Professor Xavier sat behind his desk in his study, listening to Logan and Ororo's report.  His old friend the headache felt like it was going to be paying him another visit tonight.  He hoped he had enough aspirin.

          "So, not only were we easily manipulated into a trap, but we are no closer to locating Scott, Alex, and Rogue, and we now know that Gambit is working for the Marauders."

         "That about sums it up."  Logan nodded.  "Though I wouldn' hold anythin' against the Cajun.  I think he's bein' blackmailed."

          "Yes, and I have a good idea what it is the Marauders are holding over his head."  Xavier turned to Ororo.  "How is Lance?"

          "Awake.  Hank says he's going to be fine."  She smiled fondly for a moment.  "Kitty is pleased."

          Xavier smiled, some of the tension leaking away.  "Well, that's some bit of good news.  If there's nothing else you're both free to go."

          Logan watched the Professor for a long time before speaking.  "You feelin' alright, Charles?  You don't look like you've slept much."

          Xavier smiled ruefully.  "No, I haven't.  And I very much doubt I will while my students remain in the hands of the enemy.  Now, goodnight to the both of you."

          Logan and Ororo heard the command behind the polite statement and left the study.  Once outside, Logan stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets with a grunt.

          "You are troubled, my friend."  Ororo said as they walked along the deserted hallways.

          "'Course I am."  Logan grunted.  "We shoulda found those kids by now.  It's been way too long."

          "We are doing the best we can Logan."  Ororo responded, laying one hand gently on his arm.  She could feel how tense his muscles were under his shirt.  Was he always this wound up?

          "Yeah, well, it don't look like out best is good enough."

          "We _will find them, Logan.  Our enemies are clever, but they cannot elude us forever."_

          Logan sighed.  "I suppose yer right, 'Roro.  Still don't mean I'm gonna be sleepin' any easier."

          Ororo laughed softly.  "That, my friend, is something we agree on."

          The first thing that caught Amanda's attention as she walked through the front door was voices.  One of them belonged to her father, meaning he was back from whatever business it was he had left on several days ago.  Whether that was a good or bad thing, Amanda wasn't quite sure yet.

          She didn't recognize the second voice, but she could tell it belonged to a man, and he had a slight, nasal, New England accent, like he was from the Boston or Maine area.         

          She walked into the living room.  Her father and his guest were sitting on chairs opposite each other.  The stranger looked to be about thirty-five and had close cropped, reddish-brown hair.  He wore an expensive, black three-piece suit.  A white armband round his right bicep displayed the letters F.O.H in bold black.  He had a hawkish, angular face with a hooked nose and a smile that didn't quite reach his cool, granite gray eyes.  Amanda took an immediate dislike to him.

          When she stepped into the room, her father and the man stopped talking and looked at her.  Her father smiled and stood to greet her, while the man fixed her with an unreadable look, and watched on in silence.

          "Amanda, I'm so glad your home."  Her father said, giving her a hug.  "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine."

          Turning, he gestured to the man, who stood up and approached Amanda, holding out his hand to shake.  Amanda hitched a polite smile on her face and shook his hand obligingly.

          "This is Graydon Creed."  Her father said.  "Mr. Creed is the head of an organization called the Friends of Humanity."

          "Friends of Humanity?"  The name had a very ominous ring to it. Amanda began to like the man even less.

          "That's right dear.  Mr. Creed just wants to ask you a few questions concerning your friends."

          "What friends?"  Amanda asked, immediately going on the defensive.  She began to back towards the door, but her father's hand on her shoulder prevented her from going farther.

          "I think you know what friends we're talking about."  Creed said, his false smile widening more.  "You're…special friends."

          Everything fell together.  Amanda felt her insides grow cold.  "You…you're the head of an anti-mutant group…aren't you?"

          "Oh, come now.  That's rather harsh, isn't it?  I prefer to think of us as _pro-human."_

          "No!  I won't help you!"  Wrenching her arm away from her father's grip, she made a dash for the door.  Two men stepped seemingly out of nowhere and barred her path.  Both wore dark sunglasses and green berets.  They were dressed in jeans, white T-shirts, and green vests, with the letters F.O.H emblazoned above the left breast.  They were also carrying assault rifles.

          "Please Amanda, don't make things difficult."  Mr. Sefton said casually, as if totally unaware of the fact two heavily armed men were in his living room.

          "That's right dear."  Graydon Creed said silkily.  "All we need is your total cooperation, and everything can proceed very smoothly."

          For quite possibly the first time in her life, Amanda was truly afraid.

          Alex leaned against the cold concrete of his basement prison, bored out of his mind.  When he had woken up from his Sauron-induced nap, Scott was nowhere to be seen.  In the two days since, Alex had spent the time alone here with no one to talk to.  The Marauders that brought his food weren't much on conversation.

          Alex brushed some of his blond hair away from his eyes, letting out a long sigh.  If _something _didn't happen soon, he just might very well go nuts.

          The door to the basement opened, sending a small shaft of light down.  Alex squinted, trying to make out the figure coming down.  His face lit up considerably when he recognized the head of green hair descending the stairs.  Polaris was out of uniform, wearing jeans and a red shirt, a leather jacket over it.

          "Hey!"  Alex said, sitting up a little straighter, and trying in vain to make his hair look semi-presentable.

          Polaris didn't look very much impressed.  She walked regally over and set the tray of food she was carrying down in front of him.

          "Here."  She said curtly.  Before turning on her heal and stalking back towards the stairs.

          Alex watched her go, biting his lip.  Was he going to lose this opportunity, like he had all the others?

          "Hey…wait!"  He called when she reached the bottom of the stairs.  She turned slowly to look at him, eyebrow raised.  Yes?

          "I…uh…that is to say…"  He swallowed.  Now that he had her attention, his throat seemed to swell up too much for him to talk.  "I was just wondering if maybe you could…err…tell me you're, you know, name?"

          She blinked at him for a few times, the other eyebrow raising.  "Polaris.  You know that."

          "Uh, well yeah.  But I meant, you know…you're _real name."_

          Polaris looked at him for a long time, debating whether or not to tell him.  Why did he have to give her that damn cute smile?  Finally she sighed and shook her head, starting to climb the stairs.

          "Lorna."  She called over her shoulder, before snapping the door shut and locking it.

          "Lorna."  Alex repeated to himself with a smile, before pulling the tray towards him and starting to eat.

          "Man, we're lucky Mystique don't come around here much anymore, yo.  Or we'd all be in for having our ears chewed off."  Todd Tolanskey, the Toad, as he was better known, hopped over a particularly large pile of garbage on his way to the living room.  He didn't really mind it all that much, it did after all provide him with plenty of flies to snack on.  But he knew that if Mystique ever walked through the door, they'd all likely end up buried under it.

          "Eh, we'll get around to cleaning it sooner or later."  Fred said noncommittally as he sat on the couch, mindlessly flipping through channels on the TV.

          "How you brain dead slobs can stand living in a place like this is far beyond my ability to figure out."  Wanda snapped from the corner, where she was immersed in one of her books.

          Toad hopped over to her, grinning like an idiot.  "Maybe you an' me can do some spring cleaning together baby cakes."

          Wanda sneered and hexed him into the pile of garbage.

          A sudden breeze kicked up, and   
Pietro slid into the room.

          "Hey, any of you hear something?"  He asked.

          They were all silent for a few moments.  Then they heard a sound much like a car pulling up in front of the house.

          "Is it Lance?"  Fred asked.

          "Man, why would he wanna come back here.  He's got all he wants hangin' out with his Pretty Kitty and the X-Geeks."  Toad said, pulling himself out of the trash pile.

          "Besides, there's more than one."  Wanda said, suddenly losing interest in her book.

          Then a voice came from outside, clearly being enhanced by a megaphone.

          "Mutants!  This is the Friends of Humanity!  If you know what's good for you, you'll surrender to us peacefully!"

          The four exchanged looks.

          "What the hell?"  Pietro muttered, speeding out of the room to the front door.  The others followed him outside, and found three cars-worth of men leveling assault rifles at them.  There were roughly twelve in all, each dressed identically.

          "What is this?"  Pietro asked.  "Some bad joke?"

          "We're taking you into custody, mutants."  The apparent leader of the group said.  "Put your hands above your head now!"

          "Right…sure.  Wanda?"

          Wanda indeed raised her hands, but only to fire a hex at about half the men, causing their weapons to misfire and blow up in their hands.  Pietro became a blur of movement, snatching the remaining firearms from the hands of their wielders and dismantling them in mere seconds, leaving a pile of useless parts at his feet.

          The F.O.H. members seemed momentarily put out at the sudden change in events.  But then their leader recovered and pulled out a baton, very much like a policeman's nightstick. 

          "We have our orders men!  Subdue the mutie freaks!"

          Inspired by their leaders' speech, the remaining men drew their own batons and rushed the four mutants.

          "You _can't be serious."  Pietro said.  With just a small burst of his mutant speed, he had disarmed and knocked out the three men attacking him._

          Toad spat slime into the eyes of one man, before leaping at the other two and slamming them both in the chest with his powerful legs.

          Wanda fired a hex bolt at her attackers, sending them hurtling into one of the cars.

          Fred laid out the last remaining F.O.H. members with powerful swipes from his meaty fist.

          "Heh, did these wimps actually think they stood a chance, yo?"  Todd asked as he bounded back to join his comrades.

          "I don't know, but it's time we found out what this was about."  Wanda said, stalking over to the man who appeared to lead the group, who was currently trying to clean Toad's slime out of his eyes.  She grabbed him by his vest and hauled him to his feet, shaking him.

          "Alright, what's this all about creep?!"

          The man laughed bitterly.  "You want answers freak?  Look behind you."

          The Brotherhood all looked at each other in confusion for a moment, then looked around, seeing nothing.

          After a few moments, they could hear what sounded like enormous jet engines, coming their way.  Looking up, a large form was visible in the sky, though it was difficult to tell what exactly they were looking at.

          They got there answer a few moments later, and wished they had never asked.

          For rapidly descending upon them was the large and imposing form of one of the most feared creations of all time.

          A Sentinel.

          Gasp, shock, horror!  Oh no!  As if Sinister running around wasn't bad enough, we now have to deal with the Friends of Humanity and Sentinels too?!  How evil the author is!  Oh, wait…that's me.  Heh.  Anyway, good news for you Brotherhood fans, plenty of action from them next chapter as they fight for survival against the Sentinel.  Lot's of other spooky keen stuff will happen too, so stay tuned!  Cobra awayyyyy!!! 


	9. When the Odds Are Against You

Disclaimer: Do I own the X-Men?  Hah!  You're kidding, right?

Sorry this chapter took a while.  It won't be very long, but the next one will come out much quicker than this one.

Elven Lord Mic:  Who indeed should I put Psylocke with?  I've been toying with the idea of bringing in Angel.  We'll have to wait and see.

Trinity: Yes, you are correct about Marrow.  However, I've taken a few creative liberties.  In this story, Marrow was never one of the Morlocks.

Roguechere: Alex's little flirting may seem a bit awkward, but it has its' purposes.  It just might be his ticket out of there.

Well, here's the next chapter for your enjoyment.  Enjoy!

The Bayville drive-in had once been the hotspot for teenage activity.  Hardly a night went by when the dirt ground wasn't packed with cars full of kids, all there to watch the action unfold on the big screen.  That is, when they weren't watching the action unfolding in the backseats of their cars, but that's another story.

          But, like most things, drive-ins had eventually gone out of style.  Now, the screen had been blank for over a decade, and virtually no one came by here anymore.

          That made it the perfect spot for the arrival of a most unusual visitor.  A howling wind picked up, kicking dust and debris in all directions.  Electricity crackled in the air, and the very atmosphere seemed to bend in on itself as a portal through time and space opened.

         A bright flash of light, and the phenomenon passed, witnessed by none save for a few animals.

          But the drive-in was no longer uninhabited.

          An imposing man with white hair, dressed in clothing no human had ever seen, surveyed the land around him.  His left eye flashed every-so-often, as though it were actually glowing.  Sunlight reflected off his left arm, which appeared to be metallic.

          Reaching down to his belt, the figure unclipped a small tool, closely resembling a Game Boy in size and shape, and brought it up to his face.  Pressing a few buttons, he observed the screen for a time, before grunting in satisfaction and replacing the device.

          "Definitely in the right time period, and this looks like the right location, according to intelligence."  Reaching over his shoulder, he pulled out a futuristic looking weapon, of similar design to the one carried by the Marauder named Bishop.

          "Time to go hunting."  The man growled.

          It took the Brotherhood about half-a-minute to realize what they were looking at, and an even shorter amount of time to realize that if they didn't move they'd all be fried any moment.

          The four scattered in all directions, just as the Sentinel lifted its arm and fired off a blast from its palm mounted energy weapon.  The crimson beam tore a large trench in the ground, reducing one of the F.O.H. cars to twisted scrap.

          "Uh…whadda you guys think we should do, yo?"  Toad asked as he hopped to safety. 

          "I say we pound that thing!"  Fred shouted, flexing.

          "Good one, genius."  Pietro sneered.  "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't exactly well equipped for dealing with fifty feet of mutant killing technology!"

          The group scattered a second time to avoid another blast.  They dashed around the back of the house to by themselves some time to think.

          "Well, what's your idea then, speedy?"  Fred asked.

          "Obviously we need some help.  We could probably get the X-Men, or something."

          "Sounds like a plan yo."  Toad said.

          "Good, glad that's settled."  Pietro said.

          The other three stared at him.

          "What?"

          "What are you standing around here for?"  Wanda snapped.  "Get going!"

          "Me?"

          "You're the fast one, remember?"

          "Oh…right."  With that, Pietro sped off in the direction of the institute.

          "So, what d'we do in the meantime baby cakes?"  Toad asked.

          "We'll have to hold it off for as long as we can.  Toad, you distract it while Fred and I do as much damage as possible."

          "Whatever you say, sweetums."  Toad hopped back around the front of the house, into the Sentinels' line of sight.  "Hey, catch me if you can, yo!"

          The Sentinels' optic sensors tracked the Toad's progress as he jumped around in random directions.

          "Target confirmed.  Mutant designate: Toad."  It intoned.  "Threat level: Minimal.  Recommended course of action: Immediate termination."  The monstrous robot's chest opened up, revealing the launching bay for it's payload of missiles.  With a burst of propellant, the projectiles shot forth, homing in of Toad's position.  He yelped, and leapt as high as he could with his powerful legs.  One of the missiles streaked under him, continuing on before crashing into the Brotherhood boarding house.  The projectile exploded on impact, taking much of the building with it.

          The second missile made a long, looping turn, and bore down on Toad once again.  Before the hapless young mutant could be blown to smithereens, a scarlet hex bolt surrounded it.  Its inner workings suddenly failed, and the now harmless dud slammed into the ground.

          The Sentinels' massive head swiveled as it turned to face Wanda, its scanners giving her the once over.

          "Target confirmed.  Mutant designate: Scarlet Witch.  Threat level: High.  Recommended course of action: Nullification of mutant powers.  Termination." 

          With a whirring of servomotors, the Sentinels left shoulder opened up and a slim, antennae-like device slipped out.  Not taking notice of it, Wanda attempted to hex the Sentinel, hoping to cause some of its inner workings to malfunction.  She watched in shock, however, as the scarlet bolt fizzled in mid-air.

          "Damn!  This stupid thing's blocking my powers somehow!"  Changing gears, she turned to the now nearly destroyed house and hexed a large chunk of rock directly at the Sentinel.  The debris bounced off its massive chest, doing little damage.

          The Sentinel raised its' hand, pointing its palm directly at Wanda.  There was a build-up of energy, and then a beam of energy shot right for Wanda.  She would have been incinerated, had not Fred rammed into the Sentinel's leg with all his strength, throwing off the robot's aim just enough to miss.

          The Sentinel slowly turned to observe its' last opponent.  "Target confirmed.  Mutant designate: Blob.  Threat level: Moderate.  Recommended course of action: Immediate termination."  From somewhere in its upper arm casing, a thick cable shot out, wrapping around the Blob's substantial girth.  The Sentinel attempted to lift Fred off his feet, but met with unexpected resistance.

          "Heh, you don't know me that well, do ya?  _Nothin' moves the Blob!"  Indeed, with Fred exerting all his gravity downwards, not even the mighty Sentinel could lift him._

          Unfortunately, the earth he was standing on was not so sturdy.

          With a great cracking noise, the chunk of ground Fred was standing on ripped free, taking him up with it.

          "Oh…um…this ain't a good thing."  Fred mutterd, as he began working feverishly to try and free himself from the cable's grip.  The metal it was constructed out of, however, was exceedingly strong, and stood up to even his strength.

          Wanda, seeking to return the favor to Fred for saving her earlier, hexed another rock at the Sentinel's arm.  This one had a sharper edge and when it hit, it dug into the exposed machinery that operated the cable.  The gears ground to a halt, and it lost its grip on Fred.  He dropped like a stone to the ground and stood up again, unharmed.

          "Nullification of Scarlet Witch's powers: 56% successful."  The Sentinel rumbled.  "Now extending field to encompass an area of 2.43 miles."

          "Uh, what does that mean?"  Fred asked.

          "It means this stupid son of a bitch has stopped me from using my powers anywhere near here."  Wanda said, frustration rising.

          Fred frowned, and then squinted as he glanced up at the Sentinel.  "Hey…Wanda?  Is that Todd up there?"

          Wanda looked up also, and saw that Toad had, indeed, worked his way up near the Sentinel's head while it was busy with her and Fred.  "What is that ignoramus doing?"

          Toad hopped across the Sentinel's head until he reached the device that was blocking the use of Wanda's powers.  Not seeing anyway to shut it off, he began kicking at it in an attempt to break it.  The Sentinel swiveled its head to the side to stare at him.  Thinking quickly, Toad abandoned the antennae and turned to face it.  Spitting twice, he covered the Sentinel's eyes with a thick coating of slime.

          "Optical feed impaired.  Beginning purification procedures.  Now activating level 1 security measures to repel mutant designate: Toad."

          A current of electricity coursed across the Sentinel's outer casing.  Toad yelped in surprise as a non-lethal amount of volts caused him to lose his balance, stumble backwards, and plummet off the Sentinel's shoulder.  Fred ran under his falling form, succeeding in catching him before he splattered himself over the ground.

          "I think we're in trouble now."  Fred stated.

          Jean sat in her room, her head in her hands.  Tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes.  After so many days and no leads as to where Scott and the others were, she was on the verge of losing hope.  The bond she shared with him wasn't helping much either.  All it did was give her occasional insights into what Scott was feeling at the time.  Lately, that had involved no small amount of pain on his part.  That only served to drive her despair up further.

          It was at that moment, that she felt a familiar, but no altogether friendly presence approaching the mansion very quickly.  A slight probe confirmed it to be Pietro.  Jean briefly wondered what the speed demon could be up to, but then she noticed that his thoughts were a mixture of barely-contained-panic, and a small amount of fear.  Something was not right.

          Drying her eyes on her shirt-sleeve, she stood and made her way down to the main entrance, where she found Xavier already conferring with Pietro.

          "And then a _Sentinel shows up, and I got here as fast as I could."  The silver-haired boy was saying._

          Xavier turned his head to see Jean already standing there.  A silent conversation passed between them for a few moments.  Xavier nodded, and Jean left to change into her uniform.

          "You needn't worry Pietro; we'll do everything in our power to help your sister and your friends."

          Pietro nodded, wishing he was more convinced.

          Hey.  I know this one was short, but I'm a bit behind schedule and I wanted to get another chapter up soon.  Don't worry though; I plan to have the next chapter up before tomorrow night.  We'll see the conclusion of the fight with the Sentinel, as well as another insidious plot at the hands of Sinister.  This one'll be very familiar to comic book fans.  Till next time, Cobra awayyyyy! 


	10. Changes of Heart

Disclaimer: The X-Men and all other characters in this story belong to the incredible Mr. Stan Lee and the other geniuses at Marvel Comics.

Hi there!  Told you this chapter would be up quick.  More action-y goodness to be found.  Also, wait until you see what Sinister has up his sleeve next.  Guaranteed to make you hate him more!

Pinkchick: What other pairs would you like to see?

Roguechere: More Rogue, I promise.

DoWriter12: Thanks again for your kinds words.

Well, that's that.  Enjoy the show!

          The way things had been going, it might as well have been Fred fighting alone.  With Pietro gone, Wanda's powers canceled out, and Toad's powers not well suited for battling Sentinel's, that left the Blob holding off the robot as best he could.  Many fist-sized dents dotted the Sentinel's legs, but Fred's blows did little to slow the monster down.

          The Brotherhood's house had been reduced to its foundation.  If they managed to survive this battle, they would definitely be in the market for a new place to live.

          The Friends of Humanity members had departed the scene rapidly, assured that the Sentinel could get the job finished with little difficulty.

          Fred hefted a steel support column from the fallen house and began to beat the Sentinel around the leg with it, hoping to cause even the slightest bit of damage.

          The Sentinel's armor held up well, but Fred was persistent.  After a few repeated bangs concentrated in one area, Fred managed to rip back a section of the leg plating, revealing the intricate workings beneath it.

          His victory was short lived, however, when he caught a blast from the Sentinel's wrist mounted energy cannon full on in the chest.  His massive bulk absorbed most of the blow, but he was still sent rocketing backwards several feet to slam into the ground, leaving a good sized crater.

          "Oh man.  Pietro better get a move on, yo, or we're all doomed."  Toad exclaimed as he leapt to avoid a blast from the Sentinel.

          His prayers were answered several moments later when the shadow of the _Velocity descended over the battle.  Continuing to hover, the hatch opened and Jean and Storm flew out.  Jean used her telekinesis to drag Avalanche and Shadowcat out with her, while Nightcrawler teleported straight to the ground along with Wolverine._

          The Sentinel turned to asses its new opponents.  Raising its hand, it attempted to shoot down the _Velocity.  Hank, at the driver's seat, reacted faster and pulled the craft out of harms reach.  He flashed a good luck to his teammates, then flew the craft to a safe location out of range of the Sentinel._

          Wanda waved to catch Storm's attention, then pointed at the antennae sticking out of the Sentinel's left shoulder.

          "That things blocking my powers!"  She shouted.  "Take it out!"

          Storm nodded her understanding, then flew above the Sentinel's head.  Raising her hands, she called on the forces under her control, gathering dark thunder clouds in the sky above her.

          At her command, a bolt of lightning lanced forth, striking the antennae.  In a flash of sparks, the apparatus blew apart.

          The Sentinel turned its attention to Storm, taking aim with its energy cannon.  Before it could fire, however, a sudden malfunction in the firing mechanism, courtesy  of the Scarlet Witch, caused the weapon to backfire.  The Sentinel's entire hand was blown clear off its arm, where it came crashing down.

          "Unit damaged.  Preparing to return to base."

          "We can't let it get away!"  Wolverine shouted.

          "Jean, through me at!"  Kitty said.

          Jean nodded and used her telekinesis to fling Shadowcat at the Sentinel's head.  She phased before reaching it, and passed through it.  Jean locked onto her with her powers once more.

          The Sentinel, its electronic brain now scrambled from Kitty's phasing, began to jerk around spasmodically. Avalanche used his power to break up the ground under its feet.  The massive robot began to sway dangerously.

          Fred, recovered from the blast he took earlier, came charging forward and rammed into the Sentinel's leg with all the strength he could muster.  The monster finally lost its balance and toppled over backwards, slamming into the ground with a loud crash that shook the earth nearly as violently as Lance.

          Wolverine jumped onto the Sentinel's broad chest and began hacking away at anything he could reach.  His adamantium claws cut easily through the protective armor, severing power cables and other inner workings beneath.

          "Warning…warning…unit compromised.  Initiating self-destruct sequence.  T-minus: 15 seconds until unit destruction."

          "Crap!"  Wolverine shouted, leaping clear of the Sentinel.  "Head for the hills!"  

          Nightcrawler grabbed onto Wolverine and Wanda and teleported as far away as he could manage.

          Jean grabbed onto Shadowcat and Avalanche once more and began to tow them away.

          Storm summoned up a powerful gust of wind, lifting herself along with Fred and Toad to carry them away.

          The Sentinel's countdown reached zero, and its massive form was engulfed in a ball of flame.  Jean saw she wouldn't be able to outrun the shockwave, so she erected a telekinetic shield around her and her passengers.  The blow sent her mind reeling, but she was able to keep herself and the others from harm, but she had to set down, unable to keep herself aloft any longer.

          Storm came down beside her, setting Fred and Todd after.  Nightcrawler teleported back in with his passengers.  The exertion had left him winded, and he was doubled over, gasping for breath.

          "I'll radio Beast to come get us."  Wolverine said.  He glanced at the Brotherhood.  "You coming with us?"

          The three nodded, seeing as they had nowhere else to go.

          Rogue leaned back against the wall of her attic prison, breathing deeply and trying to dispel the aches and pains that coursed through her body.  Sinister's various tests that he had run on her had involved a large amount of poking and prodding from various gizmos, and the experience was unpleasant and not one she was interested in repeating.

          She heard the trapdoor to the attic opening and groaned out loud.  She wasn't ready for another round of testing yet.  If this was Mimic coming to fetch her, she swore she'd attack him, powers or no.

          _"Chere?"_

          Rogue immediately sat up straighter.  That was definitely not Mimic.

          "Gambit?"  She called.

          "Shhh!  Keep your voice down _petite.  Gambit pretty sure he not supposed ta be up here.  He get caught, we both in trouble."  Gambit's lithe figure crept forward from the shadows, moving with a silent grace born of many years in New Orleans' Thieves Guild._

          Rogue never wanted to hug someone more in her entire life.  "How did yah get here?"  She whispered.  "Did yah escape?"

          Gambit shook his head.  "_Non.  De Marauders, de got Gambit workin' for dem.  Gambit don' want to, but Sinister say he keep you alive if Gambit do what he say."_

          "Yah…yah workin' fer them?  Fer me?"

          Gambit flashed one of his infamous smiles.  "Of course.  Ol' Remy do anythin' fer you, didn' he tell ya that?"

          Rogue's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.  Gambit continued.

          "Listen Rogue, we not de only ones de got.  Gambit saw dat kid Cyclops bein' led aroun', and I t'ink dey got his little brother also."

          Rogue's brain finally kicked back into action.  "They got Scott an' Alex too?"

          "Looks dat way."  Gambit stopped and tilted his head to one side, as if he were listening to something.  "Gambit can' stay any longer.  Listen _petite_, Gambit workin' on a way ta get us out o' hear.  You just sit tight, Remy figure us away out."  He favored her with another smile, then turned and vanished back downstairs.

          St. John Allerdyce, the Acolyte Pyro, glanced nervously over his shoulder as he crept down the dark corridor.  Magneto made it quite plain that under no circumstances were any of his Acolytes' to ever come down here.  St. John had never questioned the order, until now.  Something Gambit had said when they battled at the docks had got him to thinking.

          _What is it that Magneto has over Colossus?  He thought to himself.  __Does it have anything to do with this forbidden corridor?  Whatever it was, it was obviously supposed to be between Magneto and Colossus.  Gambit had found out what it was one way or another.  Now Pyro's curiosity had led him down here._

          The corridor stopped abruptly at a door.  There was only a tiny window on it, and it was barred.  St. John tried the handle, but found it predictably locked.  Glancing over his shoulder once more, Pyro aimed a jet of flames at the lock, melting it.  Pyro nudged the door open and glanced inside.

          The room beyond was sparse.  There was a bed against one wall, and a small wooden table and chair in the opposite corner.  St. John at first thought the room was unoccupied, but a noise from behind the door caught his attention.

          He peeked behind it and discovered a small girl with long blond hair curled up in a ball.  She looked to be about eleven or twelve, and she was staring up at Pyro with wide, frightened eyes.

          Pyro blinked for a few moments, unsure of what to make of this situation, then he knelt in front of the girl and gave her his best smile.

          "Hey there Sheila.  What're you doin' here?"

          The girl sniffed, but raised her head in what St. John supposed was a defiant gesture.

          "My name is not Sheila."  She said.  "It is Illyana."

          Pyro chuckled.  "Figure of speech darling.  Illyana, then.  That still doesn't explain why yer in here, though."

          "The man with the helmet is keeping me here."

          "Magneto?"  Pyro noticed she had a slight Russian accent.  "Illyana, do ya know a bloke name o' Piotr?"

          Illyana nodded.  "He is my brother."

          That was it.  That was what Gambit was talking about.  This is what Magneto had over Colossus.

          St. John frowned.  Many people called him crazy, and perhaps they weren't too far off, but kidnapping and blackmail was something even he didn't condone.  Especially when it involved children.

          Illyana was looking at him.  "What is your name?"

          Pyro shook himself out of his thoughts and smiled at the girl again.

          "Name's St. John.  Listen sweetheart, I'm gonna try an' find someway ta get you out o' here."

          "Are you now, St. John?"

          Pyro stiffened.  Illyana shrieked and hid her face.  Pyro whirled around to see Magneto standing behind him.  His helmet was off, and he was _not _happy.

          "Have I not expressly told you _never _to come here?"

          St. John drew himself up and used his anger to fuel his courage.  "Dis is beyond low, even for you.  How do you live with yerself?"

          "Very easily, St. John.  Which is more than I can say for you."

          Pyro realized he had two choices: fight or die.  Opting for the former, he raised his fists and shot two streams of fire at Magneto.

          Magneto surrounded himself with a magnetic shield, which the flames dispersed harmlessly against.  He clenched his fist and lifted Pyro off the ground by his fuel tank.  Flinging his arm forward, he sent Pyro sailing backwards across the room and into the far wall, which he bounced painfully off of.

          Magneto floated further into the room, lifting Pyro in his magnetic grasp once more, intending to bash him against the wall again.

          Suddenly, two powerful arms wrapped around him from behind.  Magneto cried out in surprise, but before he could react the arms had thrown him into the wall.  His unprotected head cracked against the concrete, and he slumped to the floor, dazed.

          Colossus turned to his sister.  He knew he had to hurry, before Magneto recovered.

          "Illyana, hurry!"

          "Piotr!"  She cried, jumping to her feet and running to throw her arms around his neck.  Colossus picked her up in one arm, and turned to Pyro.

          "Are you coming, comrade?"  He asked, before hurrying out the door.

          "Right…right behind ya mate."  St. John said, getting to his feet.  He was still a bit woozy, but managed to follow Colossus out of the door before Magneto had enough time to retaliate.

          Professor Xavier sat in the kitchen of his mansion, drinking coffee with Hank, Ororo, and Logan.  They had been recounting the earlier battle with the Sentinel.

          "What I can't figure out is why the authorities failed to respond."  Ororo was saying.  "It's not as if one could miss it."

          Xavier nodded.  "That concerns me also.  I sincerely hope that these so-called Friends of Humanity don't have any influence with the police."

          Logan grunted.  "Wouldn't surprise me."  He took a long sip of his coffee.  "So how're our new arrivals settling' in, Hank?"

          "Fairly well.  There's no small amount of tension between the Brotherhood and the X-Men, but there have been no fights at least."

          "Pietro did not stay, did he?"  Ororo asked.

          "No.  I imagine he went to find his father."  Xavier answered.

          They sat by in silence for a few moments, before Xavier sat up straighter and stared out into space for a moment.

          "We have visitors."

          Logan looked at him sidelong, then got out of his chair to see what he was talking about.  The other three followed after.  They opened the front door to see Pyro and Colossus standing there.  Colossus was holding a young girl they didn't recognize in his arms.

          "Hi there!"  Pyro said cheerfully.  "Mind if we come in mates?"

          Logan heaved a sigh.  "This house is getting way too crowded."

          Sinister stood before the assembled Marauders.  Gambit was there as well, but he remained detached from the group, keeping to himself.

          "I have a very special mission for you all."  Sinister told them.  "I am sure you are all wondering why I have had you studying the maps of the sewers these past few days."  There were a few nods and murmurs of affirmation.

          "The reason, my faithful servants, is this; there is a small community of mutants that live within those very tunnels.  They call themselves the Morlocks.  These mutants are genetic dead-ends.  Hideous creatures that have no place in the perfect world I have planned.

          "This is my command.  I want you to go into these tunnels and hunt them down.  Stalk them!  Tear them apart!  Do you understand?  I want you to _massacre them!"_

          No, say it ain't so!  Sinister had ordered the massacre of the Morlocks?  Whatever are we to do?!  Stay tuned to see what happens, of course!  Will the Marauders stoop that low?  Would they dare defy Sinister?  And could the Institute get even _more _crowded?  These answers and more in the next exciting episode of Mutant Dawn!  Cobra awayyyyy! 

          P.S. Next chapter features a _Special Guest Star!!! _


	11. The Line They Won't Cross

          Disclaimer: All I want for Christmas is the rights to the X-Men.  Ain't gonna happen though.

Wow!  I didn't think this chapter would come out so quickly, but here it is!  And this story has reached 50 reviews!  You guys are the greatest.  As promised, special guest star in this chapter!

Morlin: Very astute!  And I share your feelings on Sentinel's.

Caliente: Badness, yes.  But hey, that's what the Marauders do, I'm afraid.

Architeuthis: Per your request (and the request of several others) the chapter after next will focus _entirely on the Marauders, and how Sinister recruited them all.  Stay tuned!_

DoWriter12: It's good that you're excited.  Means I'm doing my job.

Roguechere: I always aim to please.  And though the guest star isn't either of those fellas, I'd like to think you'll like him anyway.

Well, enough ramblings form me!  Enjoy the show!

"Bayville!"

          Peter Parker blinked as he considered the word that came out of his boss' mouth.  "Uh…bless you?"

          J. Jonah Jameson glared up at him with a steely gaze that said he didn't find that remotely funny.  But then, Jameson never found anything funny.

          "Very amusing Parker."  He growled as he chomped on the end of his cheep cigar.  "I said 'Bayville.'  It's a city.  Not far from here."

          "Oh…OK."  Peter said with a shrug.  "What about it?"

          Jameson flung a folded newspaper at him.  Peter deftly caught it and opened it up.  It was a copy of the _Bayville Courier_.  The front page was plastered with large color photos of men and women bright costumes fighting either each other, or a giant robot.

          _Something I'm all too familiar with.  Peter thought wryly.  Out loud, he said, "Why show me this?"_

          Jameson gave him a look that stated 'isn't it obvious, numbskull?'

          "Because I want you to go to Bayville and get pictures of these so-called mutants.  Pictures Parker, that's your job, remember?!  That wall-crawling bozo doesn't sell like he used to.  We need new material, got it?"

          Peter nodded.  "Sure Jonah, I got it."

          "Well?  What are you still standing here for?  Get going!"  Jameson bellowed.  Peter was out the door in a second.

Kitty looked up at Kurt as he paced the kitchen.  He hadn't taken more than one bite of his food, and for Kurt that was highly unusual.  Kurt always had an appetite.

          "Like, what's wrong with you Kurt?  You're always hungry."

          "It's Amanda."  He said without looking up.  "I haven't heard from her in a few days, and I'm really starting to worry."

          "She probably just has to lay low.  You know how her father is."  Kitty frowned as she said that.  How such a sweet girl like Amanda could have come from someone like her father was beyond her.

          Kurt shook his head.  "Even so, she always finds a way to contact me at least once a day.  I gave her the benefit of the doubt for a little while, but it's been too long."

          Kitty could see his point.  She'd be worried if she hadn't heard from Lance for that long.  "But, like, what can you do about it?  It's not like you can just waltz up to the house and ask where she is."

          "No…no I can't."  After a few moments Kurt's yellow eyes lit up.  "But I've got other options.  See you later Kitty!"  He waved, and with a _bamf he was gone._

          Kurt was perched in a tree that sat on the border between the Sefton's lawn and their neighbor's.  Immediately, Kurt could tell something was terribly wrong.  There were several white vans with the letters F.O.H. stamped on the sides parked in the driveway and on the sidewalk.  Men armed with assault rifles stood guard at the front door and patrolled the yard.

          Kurt shifted on his perch.  He eyed a tree near the back yard of the house, from where he would be able to see Amanda's room.  He had been watching the movements of the guards for the past half-hour, and was reasonably sure he had their timing down.  He'd just have to wait for the right moment…

          _Bamf.  With a puff of brimstone, Kurt instantaneously crossed a distance of several yards.  He had timed it just so that the guards would be turned away at the exact moment he arrived in the tree._

          The view he saw was not heartening.  The windows of Amanda's room had been outfitted with iron bars.  Whatever was going on in there, it was clear Amanda was a prisoner in her own home.

          Watching the guards again for another few moments, Kurt focused on Amanda's room and _bamfed.  _

          Kurt's arrival in the middle of her room surprised Amanda so, that she jumped nearly to the ceiling.  She barely managed to hold in a shriek of surprise, not wanting to alert her father or his 'houseguests.'  Kurt started to raise a hand in greeting, but by that time Amanda had already tackled him to the floor, hugging him tightly.

          "A…Amanda."  He wheezed.  "I'm happy to see you too and all, but could you please maybe let me breathe?"

          "Sorry."  Amanda giggled and stood, helping Kurt to his feet.  She then proceeded to greet him properly with a kiss.

          "What's going on here?"  Kurt asked when they separated.  "I haven't heard from you in so long, I was really getting worried."

          "It's my father."  Amanda said as she sat on her bed with a sigh.  I'm convinced he's gone off the deep end.  He's made friends with this pack of anti-mutant bigots, and when I refused to help them, he barricaded me in my room.  He's taken my phone and everything, so I couldn't contact you."

          "What's happened to your mother?"  Kurt asked as he sat on the bed beside her, putting one arm around her shoulders.  He knew that Amanda's mother was far more tolerant than her father.

          Amanda leaned her head against his shoulder.  "She's powerless to do anything.  She tried to talk my father out of this nonsense but he wouldn't listen.  I wouldn't be surprised if a divorce was forthcoming."  Amanda sniffed as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.

          Kurt gave her a squeeze, and then stood up.  "Pack you bags Amanda.  I'm getting you out of here.

          Amanda looked up, puzzled.  "Where?"

          "The Institute, of course.  I'm sure the Professor will have no objections to you staying there."

          Amanda's eyes brightened a bit.  "Really?"  Kurt nodded.

          "Okay!"  She said, and began to gather some things around the room and toss them into a duffle bag.

          Kurt strained his pointed ears, hearing something outside her door.  "Amanda, someone's coming, I think."

          "I'm all done."  She said, slinging the bag over her shoulder.  Kurt put his hand on her shoulder and teleported, just as the door to Amanda's room swung open.  Her father stepped in, along with her mother and two armed F.O.H. members.

          "Amanda?  Where are you?"  Her father demanded.  Looking around, he could see nothing, except for a slight haze of smoke and a faint smell of brimstone.

          Behind him, his wife gave a self-satisfied smile.  "Our daughter has outsmarted you, husband.  As I knew she would."  She smirked and turned away, heading downstairs.  As she neared the front door, she stopped and called over her shoulder.  "If by chance you care, I'll be at my parents."  With that, she opened the door and marched right passed the guards and into a waiting taxi.

          Mr. Sefton snarled in defeat and slammed the door shut behind her.

          In a small room on the bottom floor of the stolen mansion they had acquired, sat five people.  Elizabeth Braddock, Lorna Dane, Sean Cassidy, Bishop, and Sarah.  Five members of the Marauders.  Their conversation was hushed, and they were constantly throwing looks at the closed door, as if they were afraid of being found out, which is exactly what they were.

          "This is madness."  Sean was saying.  "He actually wants us to murder a whole community of people in cold blood.  Simply because he does nae approve o' them."

          "Agreed."  Betsy said.  "I never imagined working for him would include anything like this."

          "I really don't think we should be surprised."  Lorna put in.  "He does call himself Sinister, after all."

          "What do we do about it?"  Sarah asked, absently playing with one of her bone spurs.

          "Try leavin'."  A new voice suggested.

          The five turned to see Gambit standing in the door way.  His arrival was so masterfully silent, none of them had heard him.

          "It's not that simple."  Bishop said.  "We all owe Sinister a lot.  Most of us would either be homeless or dead if it weren't for him."

          Gambit shook his head as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.  "Be that as it may, it ain't worth it.  Listen to Gambit, 'cause he know what he talkin' about.  Once you commit murder, you cross a line you can't never go back over.  Killin' in self defense is one t'ing, killin' for the sake of killin', dat tarnish your soul fer good."

          "How're we supposed ta leave, laddie?"  Sean asked.

          "Easy.  Ya just get up an' walk out da door."

          "And where would we go?  Sinister would hunt us down and exterminate us for leaving him."  Betsy said.

          "Gambit t'ink he know a place where you be safe."  Gambit said with a small smile.

          "What, Xavier's place?"  Sarah scoffed.  "You think he'd let us stay there, the enemy?"

          "You be surprised.  De Professor, his doors open ta any mutants seeking sanctuary.  Even his enemies.

          The five mutants looked at each other.  "Maybe…"  Sean said.

          "What about de other three?"  Gambit asked.

          Betsy shook her head.  "No need to worry there.  Rictor is completely loyal to Sinister, through and through.  Mimic isn't quite as loyal, but he'll continue to serve Sinister for as long as he thinks it'll benefit him.  And Sauron…"  Betsy shuttered.  "Well, wholesale slaughter is right up his alley."  

          "Well, you all t'ink about it.  Remy be around when you come to a decision."  Gambit gave them all a small wink, then turned and departed the room.

          Pietro stood quietly by as his father paced around like a caged animal.  To say the Master of Magnetism was in a foul mood would be an understatement.

          "Defied me.  I cannot fathom it."  He said for what seemed to Pietro to be the millionth time.

          "Well, what are we going to do about it, Dad?"  Pietro asked, not wanting to listen to his father ranting anymore.

          Magneto whirled on him and stared at him for a few moments.  He calmed down eventually, and began to think more rationally.

          "I have been obsessing over this far too much.  I do, after all, have other assets I can call on."

          At that moment, the door banged open and Sabertooth strolled in.  He took one look at Magneto and Quicksilver staring at him, and raised an eyebrow.  "What?"

          Magneto just shook his head.  "Never mind, I'll bring you up to speed later.  It is good that you are back, Victor."

          Sabertooth just shrugged.  "Okay."

          After a good fifteen minutes of trying, St. John finally managed to locate the kitchen.  Getting around the mansion was hard enough, but when it was nighttime, and most of the building was shrouded in darkness, it became that much more of a chore.

          As he entered, St. John was slightly surprised to notice he wasn't alone.  Wanda was sitting at the small kitchen table, idly snacking on a container of ice cream and staring into space.  She blinked and looked up as St. John walked in.  He gave her a smile and jaunty wave, and proceeded to raid the fridge.

          After a few minutes, he emerged with a ham and cheese sammich (love that word) and sat down in the seat opposite Wanda.

          "Evenin' there darling."  He said cheerfully.  "Couldn't sleep either, eh?"

          Wanda acknowledged him with a shrug and went back to contemplating her ice cream.

          St. John just nodded and took a bite of his sammich.  After swallowing, he looked at Wanda again.  "I know, feels weird, don' it?"

          Wanda looked up at him, eyebrow raised.  "What does?"

          "This."  St. John gestured around to indicate the mansion.  "Livin' in their house, eating their food.  We're supposed to be enemies, but they treat us like friends when we have nowhere else to go."

          Wanda shrugged again.  "I guess so."

          St. John grinned and attacked his sammich again.  After a few moments of silence, Wanda spoke up.

          "How are you so cheerful all the time?"

          St. John shrugged.  "Don' really know, Sheila.  Maybe it has something ta do with why people call me crazy."

          Wanda looked down.  "I know what it's like to be called crazy."

          St. John grinned widely once more.  "Two peas in a pod we are, eh?"

          Despite herself, Wanda gave a quiet chuckle.  "I suppose so."

          Rictor burst into Sinister's room, panting.  When he finally had enough breath to formulate words, he began talking hurriedly.

          "Bishop, Polaris, Marrow, Psylocke, and Banshee are gone.  So is Gambit, and they took the captives with them!"

          Sinister did not see all that perturbed by this.  "I see.  Would you kindly fetch Mimic and Sauron, that I might address this?"

          Rictor blinked, surprised his boss was taking the news so well, but hurried to carry out his command.  When he returned a few moments later, Sinister stood to address the three.

          "My loyal Marauders, I am sure you are aware of the situation."

          "Yeah, we are.  You want us to hunt the traitors down boss?"  Mimic asked.

          "No, Calvin.  Let them go.  They are not a concern."

          "But they know our plans.  What if they spill to Xavier?"  Rictor asked.

          Sinister laughed.  "I am almost positive they will, but that doesn't concern me.  We will continue as planned."

          "And what about the prisoners?"

          "I have all I need to be going on from them.  I was about to dispose of them anyway."

          Rictor could not understand why Sinister was so calm about the situation.  "But we're down five members!  We barely have a team now."

          Sinister laughed again.  "My dear Rictor, you fret too much.  Did you not think I hadn't planned ahead for just such an occurrence?  I have replacements for you all."

          He nodded to the door, through which five figures stepped though.  One was a woman dressed in a garishly bright green and pink costume.  The next was a Japanese man in an equally bright red, white, and yellow costume.  The third man had blond hair, and skin as white as Sinister's.  He wore a red armored costume, and his pale gray eyes shone menacingly.  The fourth man wore a mostly black costume trimmed in red.  He had black hair and a goatee, and carried a gnarled, wooden walking stick.  The fifth man was so large, he actually smashed through the doorframe, his head brushing the ceiling.  He was instantly recognizable in his red armor and domed helmet.

          "My friends, I'd like you to meet your new teammates."  Sinister said with a wicked smile.  "Vertigo, Sunfire, Omega Red, Black Tom Cassidy, and the unstoppable Juggernaut.

          "Now, I believe we have a massacre to be getting on with."

          Whoa!  More twists and turns!  Some roster changes too.  Can the mansion really handle that many mutants?  And if you thought the Marauders were bad before, how about the new team?  Yikes!  And Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is coming to town as well!  And yes, the next chapter will feature the dreaded Morlock Massacre.  Put the kids to bed for that one.  It won't be pretty.  Until next time, Cobra awayyyyy!


	12. The Massacre

          Disclaimer: Once there was a man named Stan Lee.  He created these people called the X-Men.  Since he made them, he owns them, not me.  Got it?

Alrighty.  Hello to you all.  As stated previously, this chapter will feature the Marauder's ruthless attack on the Morlocks.  The rating of this fic has been raised to R for this chapter.  It won't be pretty, consider this your last warning.

Glaivester: I considered it, but no, there will be no Nasty Boys.  This fic has enough mutants already, wouldn't you say?

Elven Lord Mic: The stranger's identity is revealed at the end of this very chapter.

Well, enjoy the show!

Evan Daniels picked his way carefully through the ankle deep water that lined the curved tunnel.  The small splashes he made as he walked echoed off the empty chamber walls.  He deftly danced to one side to avoid a large clump of some decaying organic material.  One disadvantage to living in the sewers, he supposed.        

          Once he reached The Alley, the gigantic chamber the Morlocks called home, he knew he'd be better off.  The Morlocks kept it very well cleaned, although the smell at times left something to be desired.

          But Evan never complained.  These people were kind enough to take him in when his mutation made him unfit to live on the surface.  In fact, compared to the rest of them, the bone plates covering parts of his skin looked mostly normal.  But they treated him as they treated each other, equally and with respect.  And they were certainly a diverse group, to be sure.

          There was Callisto, their leader, and Caliban, who could sense other mutants.

          There was Ape, the shape shifter, and Erg, the healer.  Plague, who could infect almost any disease on someone with a touch.  Skids, who created force fields, and the super-strong Sunder.

          Little Leech, who's 'sphere of influence' could negate any mutant power within its radius.  Scaleface, the lizard morph, and countless others who made up his new extended family.

          Although, if he said he didn't miss the institute, he would be a liar.  He missed his aunt and all his friends very much.  If the day came when he could one day control his mutation, he would return to them.

          Evan spied Caliban lounging in one corner of The Alley.  The pasty-white mutant was looking as dour as ever.  Did that guy ever smile?

          "Yo, what's up dude?"  Evan asked as he sauntered over.

          Caliban glanced up at him and gave a slow nod.  "Spyke."

          "Man, you gotta lighten up once in a while."

          If Caliban had eyebrows, he would have raised one.  Lacking that, he simply said, "What do you mean?"

          "Well, you could try smiling, or maybe…hey are you listening?"

          Caliban was staring at the ceiling, a distant expression on his face.  After a few moments he spoke again.

          "Mutants."

          Evan blinked and looked around.  There were a few other Morlocks milling around The Alley, but no new faces.  "Anyone we no?"

          "I don't recognize them."

          At that moment, the earth began to shake violently.  Bits of stone and mortar fell from the walls.  Pieces of scavenged furniture tipped over.

          Evan fought to hold his footing.  "What the hell?  Avalanche?"

          Caliban shook his head.  "No…not Avalanche."

          "He's right, not Avalanche!"  The rumbling stopped as three figures dropped into The Alley from a large hole in the wall.  Evan didn't recognize them, but they were the Marauders, namely Rictor, Mimic, and Sauron.

          Callisto came dashing in, flanked by Sunder and Skids, to see the source of the commotion.  She eyed the three mutants standing before her.  Rictor and Mimic looked normal enough, but Sauron looked like he would fit right in.

          "If you're looking to join us, there are less destructive ways of making yourself known."  Callisto said.

          Rictor laughed uproariously.  No…no my dear.  We have not come here to join your…collection."

          At that moment, an ear-splitting scream pierced the air from somewhere outside The Alley.

          Forgetting the intruders, Callisto dashed back out the way she came, followed by Sunder, Skids, Spyke, and Caliban.  The scene they came upon chilled their blood.

          A strange man with white skin in a red armored costume was choking the life out of two Morlocks with what appeared to me metallic tentacles that came out of his wrists.

          "Sunder, stop him!"  Callisto shouted.

         The large mutant charged forward, intending to wrap his meaty fists around the attackers neck, when something large and red came barreling out of the shadows.  Sunder was his with such tremendous force that somersaulted backwards fifteen feet into the nearest wall.

          Evan's jaw dropped as he recognized the big man.  "Juggernaut?  _Here?"_

          "That's right pal!"  Rictor called as he entered the room.  "And he ain't all!"

          The last remaining members of the Marauders sauntered in.  Black Tom was carrying a body over his shoulder.  Throwing it unceremoniously onto the floor, it landed face up, revealing it to be the shape shifter Ape.

          "I be tellin' ye laddie, these Morlocks sure nae be providin' any challenge.  We jus' cleaned up a whole room withou' nae breakin' a sweat."

          Callisto's horror quickly change to righteous anger.

          "You…you invade are home, and start murdering my people?  _Why_?!"  She shouted.

          Rictor shrugged, his cocky smile in place.  "Well, we do what we're told."

          Omega Red dropped the two Morlocks he had been strangling.  They had long stopped struggling.  His coils danced menacingly, as if they had a mind of their own.

          "Can we cut the pointless chatter and get back to the job at hand?"  He asked, voice tinged with a heavy Russian accent.

          "Yes, yes of course, forgive me."  Rictor said.  "Marauders, you know what to do."

          "Morlocks!  Let's show this scum what it means to mess with us!"  Callisto shouted.

          With a bellow of rage, Sunder tore himself from the fragments of the wall and charged Juggernaut.

          "Haw!  Big bad mutie wants to play rough.  Come show me what you got!"  Juggernaut taunted, massive hands balling into even larger fists.

          Sunder reared back and put every ounce of strength in his body behind his fist.  The blow rang off Juggernaut's helmet.  The crimson goliath didn't even so much as stumble.

          "That's it?  Aww, this ain't gonna be any fun, I can tell."  Shaking his head, Juggernaut gave Sunder a casual backhand slap across his misshapen skull.  Sunder flew to the side, the sound of his jaw cracking echoing throughout the tunnel.

          Erg, who could heal most any injury, hurried to Sunder's side and knelt down, placing his hands inches above the mutant's shattered jaw.

          "Easy, my friend.  You'll soon be good as new."

          Something tapped Erg on the shoulder.  He turned his head to see Black Tom poking him with his walking stick.

          "Now, we cannae have any o' that.  Ye'll make our jobs that much harder, ye will."  Tom's right hand began to glow.  The glow traveled down the length of his stick until it reached the knobby tip.  The glow intensified, and Erg figured out too late what was about to happen.

          There was a loud crack, a splattering noise, and Sunder felt himself covered by something wet that was still warm.  He didn't have the courage to open his eyes and see what it was.

          Evan watched the gruesome display and felt his temper shoot right out the top of his head.  Thrusting several razor-sharp bone spurs from his forearms, he hurled them towards Black Tom's exposed back.  They got halfway to their target when an intense blast of heat incinerated the projectiles.

          "Why not duel with me instead, _gaijin_?"  Said a voice with a Japanese accent, as Sunfire flew into Evan's line of sight.

         "Fine by me!"  Evan loaded up another set of spikes and fired them off at the hovering mutant.  Sunfire swerved out of the way and let loose another blast of flame.  Evan rolled to one side and shot off a bone spur from his forearm.  The spur nicked Sunfire under his arm, tearing his uniform and drawing blood.

          Sunfire cursed in Japanese and changed strategies, twisting in the air and diving head first towards Evan, his hands bursting into flame along the way.

          Evan thrust out three spikes on each hand, in a reasonable imitation of Wolverine.  He tensed, waiting for Sunfire to come within striking range.  At that moment, he felt a strange sensation come over him.  He grew slightly lightheaded, and he got the feeling that the floor was moving under him.  He turned his head to one side in an attempt to find out what was going on.  The move set the world whirring sickeningly.  Evan immediately felt nauseas. 

          Catching a flash of red out of the corner of his eye, Evan turned his head to look in front of him.  Through the dizzying blur he saw the world through, he noticed Sunfire was about two seconds away from putting his fists through Evan's chest.  Acting purely on instinct, Evan projected a layer of bones in the shape of plate armor out through his chest.  The organic shield came up just in time.  Sunfire slammed headlong into him.  The force of the blow shattered his bone armor, but he was saved from having his lungs collapsed.  He was still sent rocketing backwards into a crumbling stone pillar, and a combination of the dizziness he felt and a sharp blow to the head put him into dreamland.

          Sunfire nodded to Vertigo, thanking her for the assist, before flying off to find more prey.

          Sauron flapped around above the pitched battle.  He had already feasted on two Morlocks.  Lucid, who saw through walls, and Façade, who could hide like a chameleon.  Having the freedom to do with them as he wanted, he had drained them of every last ounce of energy they possessed, until both were no more than dried out husks littering the ground.

          Casting about for his next meal, he spotted a lone woman among the carnage.  Grinning maliciously, he tucked his wings in and dove towards her.

          She must have seen him coming, for she turned to face him, and look on her face was not the one of shock or fear Sauron had expected.

          Then, before his astonished eyes, she began to change.  She grew in height and stature until she had mutated into a gigantic, dinosaur-like being.

          Sauron was initially surprised at meeting another mutant similar to him.  Scaleface, however, didn't waste time going on the offensive.  Rearing back her long neck, she snapped forward, attempting to snap Sauron in her mighty jaws.

          Sauron blinked himself out of his stupor in time to dodge to one side.  Scaleface was relentless, snapping constantly at the smaller Sauron.

          Sauron, however, was extremely nimble in the air.  He danced easily in and out of Scaleface's range, taking a stab with his beak, or a swipe with his talons whenever the opportunity presented itself.  Sauron dodged another attack and saw an opening.  Flapping around the other side of his opponents head, Sauron attempted to claw one of her eyes out.  His attention focused as it was, he was unprepared when Scaleface's massive tail came streaking in and caught him squarely in the ribs.

          Shrieking in pain, Sauron tumbled through the air.  Unable to keep himself airborne through the burning sensation in his ribs, he spiraled towards the ground, landing unceremoniously in a heap.

          Scaleface lumbered over to his fallen form.  Raising her leg, she brought it crashing down, intending to crush Sauron beneath.

          She was surprised when something stopped her leg before it could make contact.  Craning her neck to get a look, Scaleface saw that the Juggernaut had caught her leg and was now holding it in place while Sauron scrambled to safety.  Scaleface roared indignantly and tried to push down with her leg.  Juggernaut continued to hold her at bay, barely exerting himself, even though she outweighed him by at least six-hundred pounds.

          Scaleface finally lifted her foot away.  Trying the same route she did with Sauron, she lashed out with her tail.  Juggernaut caught it as easily as he had her foot, and began to squeeze it in his mighty grip.  Scaleface grimaced in pain as she felt the bones creaking under the strain.  She attempted to pull the appendage out of his grip, but Juggernaut held on like a pit bulldog. 

          While attempting to find a way out, she became aware of a presence in front of her face.  Looking up, she found herself staring directly into Sauron's eyes.

          Although the human pterosaur was in obvious pain, his eyes bore into hers with determined ferocity.  A calming voice inside her head told her to drop her defenses.  She offered slight resistance initially, but finally relented, shifting back to her human form.

          Sauron landed before her and proceeded to drain her energy away.  The boost allowed him to heal his wounded ribs quickly, and he was soon in fighting shape once more.

          When Sauron was done with her, Juggernaut smashed her head in.

          The minute she felt that one presence arrive on Xavier's property, Jean knew exactly who it was.  Hardly daring to believe her senses, Jean tore out of her room and down the hallway.  She was in such a rush she took no notice of anyone who was in her way.

          Bobby and Sam barely managed to jump out of her way.  Tabby had to shove Jubilee off to one side.  Kurt and Amanda weren't so lucky.  Too absorbed in each other, they failed to notice Hurricane Jean bearing down on them, and paid the price moments later when they were knocked on their collective butts.

          Numerous heads turned to follow her path of destruction, wondering where the fire was.  Fred even pulled his attention away from his gigantic sammich to track her progress.

          Jean flew, literally, out the front doors.  Just ahead, she saw a small group of people making their way up the drive.  Not even taking into account the fact that five of them once belonged to the Marauders, she made a beeline straight to the one person in the group she desperately wanted to see.

          "SCOOOOOTTT!!!!"

          Scott, who was still weary from the time he spent in Sinister's 'care' raised his head blearily and had about two seconds to prepare before a red-headed dervish bowled into him, knocking him flat on his back and squeezing the air out of him in a hug.

          Scott tried desperately to signal that he was in need of oxygen, but Jean seemed not to notice.  Finally, Gambit had to pry Jean off of him.

          Scott sat up and took a few deep breaths, his color slowly returning to normal.  Jean escaped from Remy's grip and reached down to help him to his feet.

          "Scott, I thought…I thought you…that you…"  Jean was quite unable to form words at the moment, owing to a combination of euphoric happiness, and the tears streaming out of her eyes.

          Scott managed to give her a smile, though he couldn't do much else, he was still hurting quite a bit.

          "It's good your back and all, Shades, but would ya mind tellin' me what _they're doin' here?"  Wolverine had come up on the group.  His claws were extended, and he was glaring daggers at the ex-Marauders._

          "It's alrigh', _mon ami_."  Gambit said, stepping forward smoothly to interpose himself  between Wolverine and the others.  "Dese ones here, dey help us get away."

          Banshee stepped forward.  "We understand ye concern, but we must speak tae yer Professor immediately."

          Wolverine gave him a hard look.  "Is that so? Well, let me tell you something Irish, I'll be the judge o' who sees the Professor er not."

          "No, Logan, he's right."  Scott said, who was now being supported by Jean.

          Logan was about to say more, when Xavier and Storm came up beside him.

          "It's alright Logan.  Let's hear what they have to say."

          Banshee turned to Xavier.  "Professor, listen tae me.  It's the Morlocks, Sinister's gonnae kill em all!"

          "Who?"

          "Mr. Sinister, our leader.  Look, I'll explain later, but ye must send yer team ta the Morlock tunnels, he's gonna massacre them!"

          Storm's hands shot to her mouth as she gave a horrified gasp.  "Evan!"

          Xavier turned to face Logan.  "Wolverine, get Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Avalanche, Pyro and Colossus and meet us back here.  Gambit, you'll come as well.  So will you."  He said, turning to Psylocke, Bishop, Banshee, Marrow, and Polaris.  The five looked a bit unsure, but eventually agreed anyway.

          "Jean, please take Scott, Alex, and Rogue to the infirmary so Dr. McCoy can check them out.  You may stay with them if you wish.

          By then, Logan had returned with Kitty, Kurt, Lance, St. John and Piotr.

          "Alright, take the X-Van.  One of our friends here will show you the way.  Good luck, X-Men."

          Callisto watched on in horror as her people were systematically slaughtered.  The attackers apparently had come with orders to leave no one alive.  Not even the Morlock children had escaped their wrath.  Annalee, whose gigantic hands could paralyze at a touch, was cut down by the Russian Marauder who called himself Omega Red.  Artie, who had telescopic eyes, met his early fate at the hands of the reptilian Sauron.

          She wanted desperately to join in the fight, to die alongside her Morlocks if that was to be her fate, but Skids had apparently taken it upon himself to make sure she survived, as he had erected his force fields around her, and would not let her through.

          "Skids, _please."  Callisto begged for what must've been the twentieth time.  "Let me help."_

          Skids, always a stubborn one, shook his head.  "No Callisto, if any of us survive, it must be you."

          Callisto made a frustrated noise, but further protest died in her throat when the Juggernaut came lumbering over.

          "Well, well, well, what have we got here?  Two little muties hidin' in da corner."

          "You cannot harm us."  Skids said, puffing out his chest.  "My force fields are impregnable."

          Juggernaut cave a huge, booming laugh.  "Please, yer makin' my sides hurt.  Let me clue you in on something, little man.  Nothin' stops the Juggernaut!"

          Hauling back one massive fist, Juggernaut slammed it into the force field.  It held up under the blow, but as it was an extension of Skids' mind, the psychic backlash rattled him.  Juggernaut saw this and lashed out again, smashing against the field with his size 34 boot.  Skids screamed in pain and his force field failed, unable to stay up under the strain.  Juggernaut stomped forward, smacking Skids off to the side.  His spine didn't survive the impact with the wall.

          Callisto grimaced and prepared to square off with the human monolith, fully aware that her enhanced senses would be no match against Juggernaut's boundless strength.

          Sunder, his mouth a bloody mess, came barreling up behind him, eager for a bit of revenge against the crimson giant.  Sunder almost had his hands around Juggernaut, when the ground began to shake beneath him.  Rictor caused a title wave of concrete to rise up, throwing off Sunder's balance.

          Mimic, who copied Sunder's strength, locked the large Morlock in a full-nelson.  He was unable to defend himself when Juggernaut slammed his fist into his chest, collapsing his rib cage and sending bone shards into his lungs, heart, and other internal organs.

          Callisto slumped to her knees, defeated.  She had lost.  Her people were dead or dying and there was nothing she could do about it.  She didn't put up a fight when Omega Red's coils snaked around her, his 'death pheromones' sucking the life right out of her.

          The Alley was ruined.  Its occupants dead.  The Marauders had executed their plan with grim precision and extreme prejudice.  Rictor gathered his comrades to him.

          "Well my friends, a job well done I'd say.  I think it time we made our exit, before Xavier's lapdogs show up, as they are bound to do.

          The Marauders left through a service tunnel, not an ounce of pity between them. 

          Despite the myriad of smells that wafted around the Bayville sewer system, Wolverine was able to pick out one in particular above all the others.

          Blood.  Lot's of it.

          "We're almost there."  Psylocke announced, as she and the other four ex-Marauders led the way through the sewers.

          They arrived on the scene moments later.  The group stared in abject horror at the scene before them.  Kitty ran off into a side tunnel to vomit.

          "We're too late."  Polaris whispered.

          Storm flew into the chamber, blue eyes searching the killing grounds desperately.

          "Evan!  EVAN!!"

          "Right here, Auntie O."

          The X-Men whirled as one.  Spyke was extracting himself from a small pile of rubble. 

          "I was knocked unconscious.  They must've thought I was dead, 'cause they didn't come back for me."

          Storm rushed forward to embrace her nephew.

          "Three people did all o' this?"  Wolverine asked, incredulous.

          Evan shook his head.  "There were more than that.  Eight, I think.  Juggernaut was one of them."

          The X-Men collectively paled at the sound of Juggernaut's name.  The ex-Marauders were conversing amongst themselves.

          "He replaced us.  I figured he might."  Bishop was saying.

          "Hey, who're they?"  Evan asked, motioning towards the five.

          "Former members of the group responsible for this."  Storm said.  "They left to come and tell us this was going to happen."

          "Weren't fast enough, were they?"  Evan spat.  The five looked contrite.

          "It ain't their fault, Porcupine."  Logan said.  "We wouldn't have even known this had happen if it weren't for them."

          Kitty returned from being sick.  Her face had a slight greenish tinge to it, but it didn't seem like she'd throw up again.  Even so, she immediately wrapped her arms around Lance's waist and buried her face in his chest.

          "Are you the only survivor Evan?"  Kurt asked.

          "Yeah, I think so."  He replied, feeling like he was about to cry for the first time in his life.

          "No, not only one.  Leech alive too!"

          Everyone turned to see a small boy of about nine crawl into the tunnel.  His skin was green, and he appeared to have no nose.  His clothes were torn and he was bleeding freely from a wound on his shoulder, but he was still very much alive.

          "Alrigh', time to get back to the Institute."  Wolverine said as he scooped Leech up into his arms.

          "What about them?"  Colossus asked, indicating the dead bodies littering the chamber.

          "We'll come back an' bury 'em later."  Logan said, and then turned and led the group away from the scene of ghoulish slaughter.

          Flight 402 from New York City touched down on the runway and taxied into the terminal.  Its' passengers disembarked and went to claim their baggage.  As he stepped off the plane, Peter Parker got his first look at the city that would be his home for the next week.  Bayville.

          "Something's going to happen, I can feel it."  He muttered to himself as he grabbed his bag off the conveyor, taking a quick peek inside to see that the red and blue costume was still secure.

          He was likely going to need it.

          Across town, a solitary figure stalked the back streets and alley ways.  He cast occasional glances at the tracking unit in his hand, his left eye flashed rhythmically.

          "Not much further now."  The time-displaced tracked whispered.

          Cable shouldered his high-tech energy rifle, and continued his search.

          In the bowel of his laboratory, Sinister sat and silently contemplated the cylindrical glass tube that ran floor to ceiling.  It was filled with a viscous green liquid, and within, a tiny embryo floated.

          Sinister glanced at some monitors, then towards the wall, where a picture of Jean was tacked up.

          "One more component and my masterpiece is completed."  He smiled to himself, a wicked, cruel smile.

          "And then, the world will bare witness to a new dawn."

          Well, that one was intense, wasn't it?  More puzzle pieces are falling into place.  Can anyone guess what Sinister's working on in the final scene?  E-mail me with your guess, so we don't spoil it for everyone else.  As promised, the next chapter will focus on the Marauders, their histories and how Sinister recruited them.  We'll also find out what Xavier's going to do with all those mutants in his house.  Stay tuned.  Cobra awayyyyy! 


	13. Delving Into the Past

Disclaimer: Hey, wanna know something?  I don't own these characters.  Surprised?

          Greetings!  Welcome to the latest installment of Mutant Dawn!  Not much action this time around.  This chapter answers some pesky questions about the histories of the Marauders.  I hope you find it enlightening.

Morlin: I actually could've made it a lot worse, but I didn't want to make too many people sick.  And are you sure Cable is here to help?

Goofn1: Wow, a request for more Lance.  That doesn't happen very often.  Don't worry though, I like him to, and I think you'll like what's coming concerning him at the end of the story.

Caliente: You mean it wasn't complicated before? LOL.

Wallmartshoplifter: You are correct, Skids was a female.  My bad.

Well, that's it on my end.  Enjoy the show!

The study of Charles Xavier was crowded that night.  Xavier himself sat behind his desk, Storm and Logan on either side of him, Hank directly behind him.  His chin rested on his entwined fingertips as he observed the five mutants sitting across from him.  The rest of the core team of X-Men milled around by the door, some clutching cups of coffee.

          Scott, Alex, and Rogue had been cleared by Hank to be released from the infirmary.  Scott currently occupied one corner of the room, Jean nestled under the crook of his arm.  She had not left his side since he returned.  Rogue was sitting in one of the few remaining chairs, Remy standing directly behind her, hovering over her in a protective way.  Rogue didn't seem to mind.

          Alex sat on the floor near Kitty and Lance.  He kept casting glances over at Lorna.  One time he caught her eye and they both looked away quickly, blushing slightly.

          Xavier sat back in his wheelchair and fixed the five ex-Marauders with his steely gaze.

          "Well, why don't you begin by telling me who you all are?"

          Banshee, who by silent agreement had been nominated the groups spokesperson, replied.  "Well, fer starters, me name's Sean Cassidy.  The fetching lass sittin' next ta me is Elizabeth Braddock.  Next we 'ave Lorna Dane, wit' the green hair.  The large bloke is Bishop.  And the young lass be Sarah."

          "Just Sarah?"

          Marrow nodded.  "Just Sarah."

          "Very well."  Xavier said.  "Now, I would like to know how you came to be together, and above all else, who you work for, and what is his agenda?"

          "Our former employer be callin' himself Sinister.  I dinnae know what is his real name, or where he comes from.  I cannae even be sure if'n he's a mutant.  He 'as an unusual appearance, but he 'asn't displayed any type o' powers."

          Behind him, Xavier could here Hank scribbling away on a clipboard.  He made a few mental notes himself before continuing.

          "What _can you tell us about him?"_

          "Well, I believe he's somethin' o' a geneticist.  How good o' one he is, or where he got his trainin', I cannae say."

          "What did he want with Scott, Alex, and Rogue?"

          Sean shrugged.  "All we know fer sure is that he wanted to do some kind o' tests on 'em."  He gave an apologetic grin.  "I', sorry I cannae tell ye more, but he didnae confide much in us.  Very secretive man he was, kept tae himself.  Only talked tae us if'n he be needin' somethin'."

          More scribbling.  More mental notes.  "And how precisely did you come to be in his employ? 

          "Well, the stories be a bit differn' fer each o' us, but sine I'm talkin', I might as well tell ye mine first.

          "I was actually born in ta considerable wealth.  The Cassidy name be well known back home on the Emerald Isle.  I coulda sat on me arse the rest o' me life, livin' in the lap o' luxury, but tha' wasn' fer me, I can tell ye now.

          "I always had a bit o' the wanderlust.  As a wee lad, I'd often go getting' meself lost in the woods behind Cassidy Keep.  Never bothered me, but gave me mum an' dad quite o' fright on more 'n one occasion."  Sean allowed himself a small smile as he recalled the distant memories, then sobered and continue his tale.

          "Well, as ye can imagine, things were goin' all well an' good.  But then thing's started tae get complicated.  Fer starters, me voice started to develop.

          "It wasn' so bad at first, but right aroun' fifteen, thing's started getting' interestin'.  I 'ad always enjoyed singin' when I was a lad.  One time when I was about fifteen, I was practicin' with me tutor.  I hit a high note, an' every pane o' glass within' ten meters shattered.

          "Me parents took me ta the doctors, thinkin' somethin' might be wrong.  They couldnae find a single thing wrong.  But as time went by, my screams got worse an' worse.  Now, mind ye, the traditional banshee o' Irish folklore is female, but tae everyone around me, I was startin' ta sound more an' more like her.

          "When I was nineteen, I ran away from home.  I was becoming too much trouble for my parents.  The neighbors started whisperin', an' I decided ta leave before I brought shame ta my family's name.

          "I eventually ended up joinin' Interpol."  Sean chuckled.  "Yeah, that's right.  I was on the straight an' narrow.  Things were goin' well dere fer a while, I traveled a lot, got to see a lot o' the world.  I was generally happy with me life.

          "But I shoulda known better than ta think it would stay that way.  Back home, me older cousin, who 'ad always been jealous o' me an' my standin' in the family, started sturrin' up trouble.  Made some accusation's about me parents, an' about me.  Eventually, he ended up framin' me fer the murder o' me own father.  I had ta leave Interpol an' go inta hidin'

          "I lived on the run like dat fer about five years.  Dat's when Sinister found me.  I don' know how er why exactly he managed to, I kept my tracks pretty well covered.  But he did, an' he offered me purpose in life, a chance ta get off o' the street, if'n I'd just do what he asked.  It was a pretty sweet deal at the time, how could I resist.  I never knew things would turn out like they did, wha' happened tonight an' all."

          Xavier nodded as he absorbed Banshee's story.  "A most interesting set of circumstances, Mr. Cassidy.  Although I imagine that your story will be just as, if not more interesting, Ms. Psylocke."  Xavier turned to the purple-haired telepath.  "You mentioned your name was Elizabeth Braddock.  Any relation to the House of Braddock?"

          Betsy gave a small smile.  "The very same.  I'm their only daughter."

          "You will forgive me for pointing out, Ms. Braddock, that as far as I know, the House of Braddock has no Japanese lineage."

          "You would be correct in that analysis, Professor.  You must realize that I did not always look like this.  My birth body was about a head shorter, had blond hair, and was not quite as…shapely."

          "Indeed.  Then perhaps you could enlighten us about how you came to be in the possession of the one you currently occupy.  Does it have any significance to the odd marking over your eye?"

          "It has every significance.  This…" She pointed to the blood-red mark in the shape of a J, "Is the mark of The Hand.  They are an order of assassins dating back hundreds, if not thousands, of years.  When I was young, I was captured by a number of their organization."

          She trailed off for a moment, as if considering what she would say next, then continued.  "After that, things get a little fuzzy.  I remember that this body once belonged to a woman named Kwannon, and that she was dying, but beyond that I can't form complete memories.  I've diverted every bit of psychic power I have to unraveling the mystery, but I can't penetrate my own barriers."

          Xavier considered this for a few moments.  "Perhaps in time, working together, we may be able to solve that mystery.  But that still doesn't explain how you came to work for Sinister."

          "He promised to help me straighten out my memories.  Looking back now, I don't know why I believed him, but I was so desperate at the time."  She put her face in her hands.  "God, my family must be so worried about me.  I've been such a prat."

          Xavier got a good chuckle out of that, so did most of the room.  "Perhaps after we've gotten you cleaned up and settled in, we can see about contacting them."

          Betsy looked up, a smile spreading over her beautiful features at the thought.

          "Now, Mr. Bishop, concerning you-"

          "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, let's leave it at that."  Bishop cut in, arms crossed over his broad chest.

          "I…see."  Xavier said, slightly flustered by the brusque response.  "Perhaps you'd let me read your mind, that way I could get an idea-"

          "I'd rather you didn't."

          "Well…very well then."  Xavier said, feeling a bit put out.  He quickly turned to face Polaris, eager to continue.

          "My story is a bit simpler than Sean's or Betsy's."  Lorna said.  "When my mutation manifested, my parents completely freaked out and threw me out of the house, telling me never to return.  I was living on the streets when Sinister found me.  As you can imagine, I jumped at the chance of a better life.  I never imagined that life would include murder, which is why I chose to leave him, despite what he had done for me."

          "I'm very sorry to hear about your past, Ms. Dane.  It always grieves me when not even the ties of family are enough to cross the human-mutant barrier and unfortunately, yours is not an isolated case.  And that leaves you, Sarah."

          Sarah shrugged.  She seemed rather bored sitting here listening to life stories, and appeared eager to get hers out of the way.  "Mine's almost the same as Lorna's, except that I was always on the streets, an orphan from the start.  I've done some things that aren't exactly high on the moral scale, but killing's not something even I'd stoop to, so I jumped ship."  She shrugged.  "No biggie."

          "I see.  Well, thank you Sarah.  And all of you.  There are just a few more things I need to ask of you before we're done here.  What of your three former teammates who chose to remain loyal to Sinister?"

          "Rictor, Mimic, an' Sauron.  No surprise ta anyone they chose ta stay."  Sean said.

          "Rictor is Julio Ramirez."  Lorna put in.  "I can't say a lot about his background, but I do know that he was the first."

          "The first what?"  Xavier asked.

          "The first Marauder.  He was Sinister's first recruit, which is why Sinister made him the field commander."

          "Mimic, or Calvin Rankin, as he's also known, isn't a mutant."  Betsy said.  "As I understand it, he gained his copying powers when he inhaled a mixture of chemicals as a child.  No one knows what the compound was, and it hasn't been duplicated since."

          Behind him, Xavier heard Beast pause for a moment in his note taking, and then begin to scribble more furiously.  Xavier imagined that the nature of that chemical compound would be of great interest to Hank.  He motioned for Psylocke to continue.

          "Also, I don't think Sinister recruited Mimic so much as he hired him.  He's something of a mercenary, I guess you could say, using his powers for the highest bidder."

         "An' then there's Sauron."  Sean said.  "That boyo's perhaps the biggest mystery o' them all.  His real name be Karl Lykos an' as a person, he's actually quite meek.  He only transforms ta Sauron after he's had mutant energy ta feed on.  How exactly he got ta changin' inta a human pterodactyl nobody can figure out.  All we know is that his personality does a complete 180.  He becomes all murderin' an' psycho, as ye've all seen."

          "This is all extremely interesting." Xavier said.  "The last thing I want to question you about is the attack on the Morlocks earlier this evening.  Do you have any idea why Sinister would order such a thing?"

          "All he told us was that the Morlocks were aberrations that needed to be cleansed from the gene pool."  Polaris said, shuddering as she remembered the scene in the sewers."

          "Obviously, Sinister must have replaced you.  It is not possible that three men killed all those people."

          Banshee shrugged.  "If'n he did replace us, we didnae know about it.  He never mentioned any other Marauders."

          "He did replace you, I saw them myself."  Evan said, speaking up for the first time.

          "Can you tell us about them, Evan?"  Xavier asked.

          "Well, the first and most obvious one was the Juggernaut."

          Xavier blinked, shocked at the news that his half-brother was involved.  He shook it off and motioned for Evan to continue.

          "Well, there was this one chick dressed in green and pink.  I don't really know what she did.  I heard the others call her Vertigo occasionally.  Then there was this Japanese guy who could fly and shoot fire and stuff.  I think he said his name was Sunfire or something like that.

          "Then there was this guy who was almost as weird as that Sauron guy. He had really white skin, and he had these weird tentacle things that came out of the bottom of his wrists."

          Wolverine suddenly became very interested in the conversation.  He leaned across Xavier's desk and stared at Evan.  "What did this guy call himself?"  Logan demanded.

          "Uhh…something…something-Red?"

          "Omega Red?"

          "Yeah!  Yeah, that's it.  Omega Red."

          Wolverine growled and stood straight again.  "Rosovitch, great."

          "You know him, Logan?"  Xavier asked.

          "Yeah, me an' him tangled a while back.  His real name's Arkady Rosovitch.  He's a kind of Russian super-solider, the Communist answer to Captain America.  I hadn' heard from him in years.  And now here he is, turnin' up workin' fer Sinister and slaughtering mutants.  This'll get real interestin'."

          "Indeed.  And the last replacement Evan?"

          Some Irish guy with black hair and a goatee.  He carried this walking stick that he blasted people with.

          Sean spun in his chair to face Evan.  "Black Tom?  Did he call 'imself Black Tom?"

          "Um, from what I remember, yeah."

          Sean swore as he turned around again.

          "An acquaintance, Sean?"  Xavier asked.

          "Tom is me older cousin, the one I told ye about?  The one who murdered me father an' pinned the blame on me?"

          "Ah, yes."  Xavier said.  "Another connection to the past working for Sinister."

          "I shoulda expected it.  That kind o' thing always was right up his alley."

          Xavier nodded.  "Thank you all for your time.  Rooms will be provided for you shortly, but I have one final bit of business to attend to.  Scott, Jean?"

          The two mutants, who, despite being exhausted, had listened with rapt attention to the stories, straightened and looked to their mentor.  "Yes, Professor?"

          "I would like you to gather everyone and have them meet in the War Room.  I would like to address them."

          "Uhh, everyone Professor?"  Scott asked.

          "Everyone."

          "I don't think the War Room can hold that many."

          "Hmm, I see your point.  Better make it the Danger Room, then.  I'm sure that will accommodate everybody."

          The two nodded and left to carry out their orders.

          "The rest of you head down their now please.  Show our guests the way."  Everyone filed out of the study.  Xavier stayed behind to confer with his three instructors for a few moments, then followed his students.

         In the span of ten minutes, every occupant of the Institute was milling around the danger room, awaiting the Professor's arrival.  Those not included in the meeting that took place earlier were engaging in many separate whispered conversations.  Speculations passed back and forth about what this gathering was about, and also about the five former Marauders who stood off to one side, separated from the main body.

          The Danger Room doors opened and Xavier rolled in, followed by Logan, Hank, and Ororo.  All talking ceased immediately.  Xavier smiled around at everyone, then began speaking.

          "First of all, thank you all for coming.  As our first order of business, I would like you all to welcome your new teammates.  Please welcome Banshee, Psylocke, Polaris, Marrow, and Bishop."

          There was  a chorus of murmurs as this news sunk in.  Practically the entire student body was weary of these new recruits.  Those who had sat and listened to their stories, however, immediately broke into a round of applause, and the rest of the X-Men soon followed.

          After the noise had died down, Xavier continued.  "Now, we come to the main purpose of this meeting.  As I am sure you are all well aware, our current roster totals at twenty-eight X-Men.  It goes without saying that a number such as that could get a little difficult to manage."

          "You're not gonna throw some of us out, are you?"  Toad asked, sounding nervous.  "Some of us don't have a place to go, ya know?"

          Xavier smiled and shook his head.  "You needn't fear Todd.  I have no intention of throwing anyone out.  This mansion can and will continue to accommodate you.  Myself and the other instructors have simply devised away to make you all more manageable.

          "You will each be divided into four teams; Blue, Gold, Silver, and Green.  Each team will have seven members."  Xavier reached under his chair and pulled out a piece of paper.  "The teams have been set up thus:

          "Blue Team will consist Cyclops, Jean, Rogue, Gambit, Sunspot, Berserker, and Psylocke.

          "Gold Team will be Banshee, Colossus, Toad, Nightcrawler, Havok, Marrow, and Bishop.

          "Silver Team will have Shadowcat, Avalanche, Polaris, Magma, Spyke, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom.

          "Finally, Green Team will consist of Blob, Scarlet Witch, Iceman, Pyro, Wolfsbane, Jubilee, and Multiple."  Xavier put the paper away, then addressed the X-Men again.

          "Each team will have a leader who will command them in the field.  Blue will be led by Cyclops."  That news came as no surprise to anyone.  They all expected the Professor's first student to have a leadership position.

          "Gold Team will be led by Banshee, whose long experience will be a great asset, I believe.  Plus, having a former enemy lead will promote acceptance and teamwork."  Sean looked mildly shocked at being appointed Team Leader so soon after joining, but accepted the position in good grace.

          "Silver Team shall have Avalanche as it's leader."

          "Uhh…did you just say me, Professor?"  Lance asked.

          "That's right Lance.  I know you already have leadership experience from the Brotherhood, and I'm confident you will do a fine job."

          Lance was about to protest again, when Kitty bopped him on the head.  "Just shut up and take the job will you?"

          Lance smiled and nodded.  "Alright, I will."

          Xavier chuckled.  "Excellent.  That leaves us with Green.  After careful consideration, I have decided to nominate Iceman as leader."  There was a general uproar at Xavier's comment.  "I know what you're all thinking!"  He said, speaking over the noise until there was quite again.  "I realize that Bobby has a reputation as a prankster, but he has shown a remarkable talent for tactics when he sets his mind to it.  I have every confidence that he will perform admirably."

          Most everyone seemed to accept this.  A few were still weary though, especially the members of Green Team.  Bobby gave them all his best 'You Can Trust Me' grin.  That made them all the more weary.

          "Well, that's everything, I believe.  Now, all of you to bed.  It's been a long day, and we have much to do in the coming days."

          The X-Men slowly filed out of the Danger Room, talking amongst themselves as they headed for their rooms.

          That night, five former Marauders experienced the first peaceful sleep any of them could remember for a long time.

Well, I hope that shines a little light on the Marauders for you all.  I know there are still some mysteries to be solved, specifically about Bishop.  Those will come to light very soon.  Next chapter features more of the Friends of Humanity, as the newly developed Teams get their first test runs.  Stay tuned!  Cobra awayyyyy!


	14. Crawling on the Wall

          Disclaimer: Insert witty comment about not owning characters here.

Alright, new chapter up!  In this exciting episode, we get to see out favorite web-slinger in action!  Spooky keen!  Tensions fly between the X-Men as well!

Wall Crawler: Spidey will interact with many of the X-Men, Nightcrawler and Toad included.

Elven Lord Mic: The F.O.H. is indeed connected to someone.  I think you'll be surprised when you learn who it is.  Also, your prayers are answered, because we will see more of Parker starting this chapter.

Architeuthis: I usually do all my writing late at night, so spelling and grammatical errors will occur from time to time.  Good eye though.  You also touched upon some good points.  Tempers will fly between the former Marauders and their new teammates.  Also, concerning Banshee's and the others standings as "students", although they are a bit old for that term, Xavier considers all his X-Men his "students" even if he doesn't mean it in the strictest sense of the word.  My bad, I should have made that clearer before.  As for Black Tom and Juggernaut?  Well, I can't write slash to save my life, so that one's out for this fic at least.

Well, time to enjoy the show!

To say that the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters was crowded would be an understatement.  The decades old mansion, originally owned by a Dutch ancestor of Xavier's, before being passed along to him for his use, was currently holding the largest roster of mutants it had known.

          Yet, despite the numbers, it somehow managed to accommodate everybody so that no one felt crowded, or felt like their privacy was being invaded.  Most of the time.

          Every now and again, certain rooms would just become crowded for their own good.  The kitchen was usually at the top of the list.  Freddy was currently trying to squeeze his way in.  Not an easy feat, given his impressive girth and the fact that Sam, Jean, Lance, Lorna, Bobby, and Tabby were all trying to use the room at the same time.

          "Ow, hey!  Watch it, ya big oaf!"

          "Maybe if you weren't taking up all the floor space in front of the fridge we wouldn't have this problem, Lance!"

          "_I'm taking up space?!"  Look whose talkin' wide load!"_

          "Wide load?!  Those're fightin' words Shakedown!"

          "Guys!  No fighting in the kitchen!"

          "He started it Red!"

          "I don't care who started it Lance, take it outside!"

          "Excuse me?  I just wanted to get a sammich, is that too much to ask?"

          "Can it Frosty!  We're in the middle of something here!"  Fred swung his arm in a wide arc, accidentally smacking Sam in the chest, which sent the Southern Boy cannonballing out the door, through the living room, through the entrance foyer, and out a window.  He sailed across the lawn before smacking into a tree, which finally killed his momentum.

          "Uhh…oops."  Fred said.

Lorna gave the whole proceeding an apprehensive look.  "Just what have I gotten myself into?"

          "Don't sweat it girl!"  Tabby said, draping an arm over her shoulder.  "You'll get used to it soon enough.  C'mon, let's go take a stroll and find us some boys.  I think that cutie Alex has taken a liking to you."

          Lorna blushed but didn't protest as Tabby led her away from the kitchen, where Jean was still trying to interpose herself between Lance and Fred's argument, and Bobby was trying to find the best way to gather sammich ingredients that didn't involve bodily harm on his part.

          Beneath the city streets, in the subterranean chamber known as The Alley, Logan, Piotr, Sean, Remy, Rogue, Evan, and Bishop were overseeing the burial of the Morlocks, who had been viciously slain three days ago by Sinister's band of mercenaries, the Marauders.

          Mounds of earth of varying sizes dotted the chamber floor, each one marked by a wooden cross.  Sean put the finishing touches on the grave he had been digging and took a moment to lean on his shovel, whipping his forehead, which had collected a fine layer of sweat and grime from the afternoons work.

          "Begorah, I be wishin' we were only a wee bit faster getting' word to ye all about this.  I feel right terrible about this whole situation."

          Logan grunted as he and Piotr lowered the remains of Sunder into the grave, and began to fill it with dirt again.  "Ya can't blame yerself, Irish.  There wasn't anythin' ya could've done."

          "He is correct, comrade."  Piotr said.  "That you chose not to participate in the horrendous deed at all speaks volumes for your character."

          They shoveled the last bit of dirt into place, and Bishop topped it off by jamming a cross into the earth at the head of the grave.  Sunder's grave was the final one to be completed.  The X-Men bowed their heads in a moment of silence, before filing out of The Alley.

          "Well, time ta head back home.  I don't know about the rest o' you, bit I'm flamin' starvin'."  Logan said as he slung his shovel over his shoulder and headed for the access ladder that would take them to the surface.

          "Guys?  If you don't mind, I'm gonna stay behind for a little while."  Evan gestured back towards The Alley.  "You know…"

          "Right."  Logan nodded.  "Take yer time Porcupine.  We'll let Storm know where ya are."

          "I'll be home in time for dinner."  Evan waved and headed back to The Alley to pay his last respects.

          As the X-Men walked along, Remy fell into step alongside Rogue.  The southern girl had been quiet and distant for most of the morning while they were working.  The opportunity was too much for Remy to pass up.

          "You been real quiet _petite_, you hangin' in dere alrigh'?"

          Rogue blinked out of her stupor and glanced up at Gambit.  "Oh...sure, Ah guess.  Its jus' that…"  She trailed off for a moment.

          "Jus' what?  Don' worry Rogue, you can tell Ol' Remy."

          "Well, Ah'm jus' thinkin' about what the Marauders did ta the Morlocks.  Ah think about how easily dey slaughtered them all.  And then Ah think about how we're eventually gonna have ta fight 'em, and…"  She trailed off again.  Glancing ahead, she slowed her pace down, so that Logan and the others pulled ahead, giving her and Remy a small amount of privacy.

          "And Ah'm more than a little afraid.  Ah know from experience how tough an opponent Juggernaut is, an' then there's the other Marauders, who seem even more powerful than the old team, an' Ah worry about what's gonna happen ta us when it comes time ta fight."

          Remy watched Rogue as she talked.  He knew that openly admitting fear was not something Rogue did on a daily basis, and the fact that she opened up to him was flattering, but at the same time he also felt he should be honored that she would let him see that side of her,

          Remy flashed her one of his trademarked grins, turning on a hint of the Cajun charm to help set her mind at ease.

          "Remy know you nervous _chere_.  Hell, Remy is to, a bit.  But he also know dat de X-Men can handle any situation dat comes dere way.  An' as long as Gambit breathin', he watchin' over you _petite.  You call, he always come ta your rescue."_

          Rogue looked down at her feet as she smiled shyly.  A hand came up to her face and brushed away a strand of white-streaked hair, a nervous habit she had picked up when someone was flattering her, or just being kind to her in general.

          Before she could respond, Logan's gruff voice traveled down the tunnel.  "Hey!  You two lovebirds coming er not?!"  Rogue blushed horribly at Logan's choice of words, but Remy merely shrugged, his cocky grin in place, and trudged off down the tunnel, leaving Rogue to hurry in his wake, wondering how she would ever manage to look Wolverine in the face.

          "And stay out!"  Toad went flying backwards out the bedroom door, after which it was slammed in his face.

          Todd huffed and got to his feet.  "Man, can you say 'touchy', yo?"  Like it was his fault he had popped in on the elf while he was necking with his girlfriend.  It wasn't his fault he never locked his door.

          "Maybe I shouldn't've asked him about borrowing his inducer.  Must still be a sore subject."

         Toad hopped off down the hallway.  There had to be _something to do in this oversized house.  Maybe if he was lucky he could find Wanda.  He was always up for spending time with his Cuddlebumps.  Even if she did spend most of said time hexing him into various objects, blunt or otherwise._

          Turning the corner, he came to the landing that led to the stairs.  Deciding to forgo the stairs entirely, he hopped over the railing and sailed right down to the bottom floor.  He had made far longer jumps numerous times, and never had any problem sticking the landing.

          It was most unfortunate, then, that someone decided to walk under him at exactly the wrong moment.

          There was a shout of alarm, a shriek, a crash, exclamations of pain, and more than a few swear words.  Todd rolled over on his back and attempted to get up, when he found two very sharp points of bone inches away from his eyeballs, and a very angry looking Sarah on the other end of them.

          "Would you kindly explain what the _Hell _you're doing falling on me from the top floor?!"

          Todd swallowed and kept his head very still.  It seemed that if he moved in the slightest, he'd get skewered.  "H…hey, no big deal babes.  It's just, usually there's no one under me when I land, I didn't think people like to get squashed."

          Sarah's eyes widened in a kind of maniacal way.  Her arms holding the bone spurs pulled back slightly, as if preparing to ram them home.  "Are you calling me stupid?!"

          Toad screamed and covered his face with his hands.  "No!  No, I'm not, really I'm not!  I'm too handsome to die, yo! "

          Sarah stared at him for a few minutes, ten rolled her eyes with a huff.  "Whatever."  She stood up and backed away slightly, Todd scrambling to his feet the moment she did.  Having nothing better to do with her bone spurs now, she merely shrugged and threw them over her shoulder.

          The sound of breaking china told her she should have watched where she was throwing.

          "Oooh, yer in for it now babe."  Todd said, apparently having not learned his lesson about making Sarah angry.

          Sarah's eyes flashed once more and she briefly considered producing more bones to stick him with.  Todd saw this and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, groveling and begging forgiveness.  

          Sarah started to say something, when she heard voices coming down the hall.  They sounded like they belonged to the Professor and Ororo.

          "Shit!"  Sarah grabbed Todd's arm and started to drag him out the door.  "C'mon, before someone sees us!"

          Todd didn't protest, he didn't much relish the idea at being caught at the scene of the crime.

          They were out on the grounds and a good two-hundred feet away from the mansion when they heard a high-pitched voice coming from the door.  "My vase!"

          "Man, Storm sounds pissed."  Sarah said.

          "That…wasn't Storm."  Todd said.

          Sarah blinked and looked at him.  "That was the _Professor?"_

          "Yeah…he gets pretty wacky over his priceless collections."

          "That thing was _priceless_?!"

          "Uh…yeah.  Ooh!  An' he's gonna know it was you, he'll find your bone shards."

          "Crap.  Maybe he'll blame it on that other bone-thrower, uh…Evan."

          "I don't think he's home right now."

          "Crap."

          "Hey, are you an' him related somehow?  Y'know, having almost identical powers and all?"

          Sarah shrugged.  "I don't think so.  But then again, who knows?  I know next to nothing about my family tree, so anything's possible I guess."

          They walked, or in Toad's case hopped, along in silence for a few more minutes.  Toad wasn't paying much attention to where he was going, so he almost missed catching sight of Wanda.  He would have gone right by if Sarah hadn't made a comment.

          "Hey, isn't that that girl you're always going on about?"

          Todd looked up and, sure enough, saw Wanda sitting by the fountain about fifty yards away.  He was all set to go hopping right on over when he caught sight of a familiar head of bright orange hair hovering near her.

          "Aahh, figures that nut-job would be there."

          Sarah raised an eyebrow.  "What d'ya mean?"

          Todd pointed.  She's been spending a lot of time lately with that Pyro guy.  I'm starting to think she likes him."

          "Starting to think?"

          Toad sighed.  "Well, alright, I know she likes him."

          "And you're still all caught up on her?"

          Toad shrugged.  "What can I say?"

          Sarah grunted and rolled her eyes.  "There's nothing I hate more than a lovesick man."  She suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the front gates.  "C'mon, we're gonna go find something to take your mind off of her."

          Toad protested slightly, but found himself pulled inexorably onwards by the headstrong girl.  He finally decided to surrender to fate and see where it led him.

          Alex lounged under the shade of a large birch tree, flipping through a magazine.  While he was glad to be with his brother and all, he did miss the beaches of his Hawaiian home.  It had been some time since he had been surfing, and the Northeast wasn't known for its waves.

          Still, he couldn't deny he was having fun.  He enjoyed honing and learning more about his powers in the Danger Room with his teammates.  Point in fact; Logan had commented that Alex complained the less out of the others when it came to their sessions.

          The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted his reveille. 

          "Excuse me, laddie."

          Alex scowled and looked up at his visitor.  Sean Cassidy was one of the last people he wanted to see.  While it was true that Xavier had granted him and his four companions a full pardon, and welcomed them to the team, Alex wasn't quite so ready to forgive just yet.

          He still nursed a grudge from the time the Marauders kidnapped him and his brother.  He was inclined to forgive Lorna, mostly because of his large crush on her, but as for the other four, well, that was a different story.

          The worst of it all was, thanks to the new team set-up implemented by the Professor, Alex was forced to work with _three _of the former Marauders, and one of them, specifically the one standing right in front of him, was the _team leader_!

          "What?"  He growled, closing his magazine.

         "Look lad, I dinnae expect ye ta be all chummy with me after what me an' the others did ta ya, but now that we're on the same team an' all, an' I've been put inta a position o' leadership, I was hopin' we'd be able ta out the past behind us an' all."  Sean held his hadn out to Alex to shake.

          His response was two blasts of plasma square in the chest.

          Sean flipped backwards head over heels until he managed to right himself in mid-air, shaking his head to try and clear it.

          "Alrigh', I guess I owed ye that one."

          Alex got to his feet, both hands glowing with plasma ready to be released.  "You owe me a lot more than just that one!"  He shouted, his laid-back, surfer attitude giving way to anger he couldn't remember ever displaying before in his life.

          "After everything you've done, you expect me to just shake your hand and forget it!"  Alex fired off another pair of bolts at Banshee, who swerved out of the way.

          "Tha's what I was hopin' for, aye."  Banshee replied as he dove to avoid another shot.  "I'm not sayin' we have ta be friends or nothin', but we can at least try an' act professionally towards each other, like adults."

          "Easy for you to say!"  Alex scoffed, attempting to blast Sean out of the air.  The Irishman continued to bob and weave through the air as he attempted to calm Alex down.  The youngest Summers didn't look like he was going to be slowing down any time soon; he had improved drastically since arriving at the Institute.  Sean decided he was going to have to take some action.

          Opening his mouth, Banshee emitted a wail.  It was only a fraction of what he was capable of, and wouldn't do any lasting damage to Alex, but it would disorient him and hopefully deter the younger man from continuing his attack.

          As luck would have it that was exactly the moment Scott came looking for his brother.  Having not witnessed Alex strike the first blow, he was not aware of the whole story behind the situation.  All he saw was Banshee screaming at Alex, and his brother down on one knee, holding his ears.

          "Bastard!  I knew it!  I knew you were still working for Sinister!"  Scott reached up and ripped off his glasses, unleashing the full fury of his optic blasts.

          Sean was alerted to Scott's presence by his yelling.  Ceasing his sonic attack, he turned in time to see a crimson flash, and a deadly wave of energy bearing down on him.  He jerked to one side, managing to avoid taking the full force dead on, but the wide beam still clipped him and knocked him into the ground, driving the air out of him.

          Scott replaced his glasses but kept his hand on them so he could pull them away at a moment's notice.  He then began to advance menacingly on Sean.

          "You could've at least come up with a better ploy!  Sneaking into our ranks under false pretenses of switching sides.  I knew the Professor should've thrown you all out on your asses from the start!"

          Banshee tried to speak in his defense, but he was having trouble catching his breath after Scott's attack.  Scott began to raise his glasses once more, intent on finishing the job.

          "Scott, wait.  Don't lose your cool, bro."  Alex got to his feet, his ears having finally stopped ringing.  "He was just defending himself, I attacked first."

          Scott lowered his glasses and turned to look at his brother.  "You did?"

          "Yeah.  I just wanted a little bit of payback for the kidnapping and everything.  I'm not too happy about the current set up, but I do believe that he's on our side."  He fixed Sean with a steady glare.  "That still doesn't mean we're gonna be all buddy-buddy now, though."

          Sean gave a weak smile and stood on shaky legs.  "Tha's good enough fer me tae be goin' on with."  He turned his gaze to Cyclops.  "An' you, lad?"

          Scott gave him a hard look.  "If I catch even the slightest hint of betrayal from you…"

          "I understand boyo.  I'd expect nothin' less from ye.  I can see how devoted ye are to ye family an' friends."

          "Right, glad we understand each other."  Alex nudged Scott in the ribs and raised an eyebrow at him.  Scott sighed and said, "Sorry about blasting you."  He then turned on his heal and went to find Jean.  He could do with some cheering up.

          The Bayville General Store was known for two things.  It had the best deals on foodstuffs you were likely to find, and its' owner, an elderly gentleman by the name of Ernest, was tolerant of mutants.

          Unfortunately for him, it was the latter trait that made his store a target for an unusual band of 'customers'.

          A small contingent of roughly fifteen men, all dressed identically in the uniforms of the Friends of Humanity, were currently running amok in the store, smashing displays, grabbing food as they would, and generally terrorizing the poor, kindly old man who was just trying to make a living.

          "Why…why are you doing this to me?"

          "Isn't it obvious?  You serve muties!"  The leader of the group spat.

          "I just treat them like paying customers!"  Ernest replied.  "They come in here and get what they want and everyone goes about their business without any trouble!"

        "Well, you got trouble now, old man!  Anyone who helps muties might as well be one of them!  We're gonna make an example outta you!"  With that, the F.O.H. marched Ernest out of the store at gunpoint.  One remained inside, and began to douse the store in gasoline from a can he was carrying.  He then poured a trail that led outside to the sidewalk, where his leader was holding a lighter.  The man was currently addressing a group of people who had gathered across the street to see what the commotion was about.

          "Let this be a lesson to all of you, in case you get it into your heads to be friendly to mutie scum!"

          Among the small gathering of people, Peter Parker watched the scene unfold and gave a resigned sigh.

          "Three days, that must be some kind of record."  Glancing around, he noticed that everyone's attention was riveted to the scene across the street.  Peter was thankful for that, as it allowed him to slip unnoticed into an alley.  Once he was sure he was safely hidden away from prying eyes, he began to remove his clothes.

          He was thankful, not for the first time, that his skin-tight costume could be worn comfortably under his normal clothes.  It made things a lot quicker.  All he needed to do was lock his web-shooters into place, pull on his gloves and boots, and slip the mask over his head, completing his transformation in just under seven seconds.

          Leaping onto the wall, Spider-Man crawled back out into the street, watching the small riot from his new vantage point.

          "Please, don't!"  Earnest was pleading.  "That store is my livelihood, you can't-!"

          "Enough outta you, old man!"  The F.O.H. member shouted.  He pulled back the butt of his assault rifle, preparing to strike the old man across the head.

          He was very surprised when a thick strand of what looked like gray rope suddenly latched onto the barrel of his gun and yanked it from his hand.

          He followed the guns path as it sailed backwards, right into the waiting hand of a figure clad in what looked like red and blue spandex.  The figure took the rifle in both hands and _bent it.  He then tossed the ruined weapon away._

          "Honestly, do you really have nothing better to do with your time?  You should really consider taking up paint-ball if you enjoy using guns so much.  Far less destructive."

          The thug eyed the figure for a few moments, eyeing the bright costume, the way he had bent the rifle with his bare hands and, most importantly, the fact that he was _sticking to the wall, and came to the only obvious conclusion._

          "He's a mutant!  Shoot him!"

          Fourteen rifles leveled at Spider-Man.  An intense buzzing blared at the base of his skull, and he leapt clear of the building he was perched on, just as a hail of bullets struck the spot he vacated.  Extending one hand, he double-tapped his palm with his middle and ring fingers.  A strand of artificial webbing shot out from his wrist-mounted shooter and attached itself to the corner of the building on the opposite side of the road.  Spider-Man swung over the bewildered heads of the crowd below and alighted on a window ledge that was far too narrow for any normal person to get their balance on.

          "One of these days I'll stop bothering to ask if they wanna do this the peaceful way.  They never take the opportunity anyway."  Before his opponents could respond, Spider-Man leapt off the side of the building and descended straight into the midst of the startled F.O.H. members.  His right fist lashed out at the same time his left leg extended backwards in a kick.  Both blows hit home, and the enemies on the receiving ends dropped like stones.

          His spider-sense began to blare incessantly.  Performing a perfect back flip, Spider-Man avoided the incoming blow from behind.  The rifle butt that was intended for him continued on to smack into the chin of the wielder's ally instead.

          "Well, thanks for the timely assist pal.  What that all my opponents were as helpful as you."  Spider-Man shot a web line which wrapped around the F.O.H. member's ankles.  He then gave a tug, tripping the man and dropping him on his head, knocking him right out.  "Although since you're unlikely to be so accommodating again, I'll just let you take a nap."

          His spider-sense providing another warning, Spider-Man rolled to the side to avoid the bullets fired from his remaining adversaries.  Glancing to one side, he noticed the crowd of people still standing around gawking.  Why did they always do that?

          "Hel-ooo?!  Do you not see the guns?  This is the part where you _run away!"  He shouted as he twisted away from another round of deadly fire.  The crowd finally seemed to get with the program and made a hasty retreat._

          Firing two more web lines, Spider-Man relieved two men of their firearms.  He was then occupied for the next several minutes avoiding gunfire.  He leapt and rolled, twisted and flipped as he trusted his reflexes and his spider-sense to see him through alive.  As agile as he was, a few bullets managed to graze him in non-vital areas, drawing small amounts of blood.

          "Man, times like this I wish I kept the symbiote.  Venom never has to worry about getting shot."  He muttered to himself as a bullet skinned his forearm.  During the melee, he had noticed the head goon talking into a cell phone.  Probably calling for reinforcements.  He needed to end this quickly.  And where the hell were the police?  Gunfire usually brought them running.

          "And I thought this week was going to be boring."  Spider-Man said as the battle continued.

          Following a telepathic summons from the Professor, the members of the X-Men's Gold and Silver Teams were currently assembled in the War Room.  They all listened intently as Xavier explained the situation.

          According to the local news, a small group of men, who are apparently members of this Friends of Humanity that attacked the Brotherhood several days ago, were terrorizing an elderly general store owner who is friendly towards mutants.

          Kitty gasped.  "That's Ernest!  I shop at his store all the time!"

          Xavier nodded.  "Indeed.  Anyway, as it happens, eyewitnesses claimed that as the group was preparing to burn down the establishment, a figure in a red and blue costume appeared and began to defend the store from the men."

          "Red and blue costume?"  Cannonball asked.

          "Correct."  Xavier said.  He then turned and activated one of the monitors that were tuned into the local news station.  The picture showed said red and blue figure battling a group of armed men.  As they watched, he leapt around with an agility that could easily match Kurt's.  He emerged unscathed from a hail of gunfire and proceeded to knock out three F.O.H. members in a timely fashion.

          As the feed continued, two white vans pulled up and several more F.O.H. members poured out.  The mysterious hero was now facing greater numbers than before.

          "As you can see, the fellow is quite outnumbered, so I'm sending you in to assist.  You should be able to handle the situation, but Blue and Green Teams are on stand-by just in case.  Are you all clear?"  There were nods and murmurs of ascent.

          "Good.  Return safely, X-Men."

          Whee!  Spider-action is good, no?  More action next chapter as our wall-crawling hero meets up with the X-Men.  Also, Magneto enters the scene once again!  What does the Master of Magnetism have up his sleeve?

Stay tuned to find out!  Until then, Cobra awayyyyy!


	15. Spider to the Power of X

Disclaimer: ::Oompa-Loompas come out and sing a clever song about how Cobra doesn't own these characters::  Oh, and I don't own the Oompa-Loompas either, for that matter.

Yeehaw, next chapter up!  Spider-Man meets up with the X-Men, Magneto drops back into the action, and Cable turns up again!  All sorts of spooky keen stuff for your enjoyment!

Talliecat: Welcome aboard!

Jacombo: Glad you're back.  Don't worry, the X-Men will get some whooping time with the new Marauders soon.

Becca: Right, Leech.  Good call, almost forgot about him.  He's living at the Institute, he's not a part of the X-Men though, so I haven't really found a reason to write about him.

Goofn1: Got some good Lance stuff for ya in this chapter.  You'll love it, I'm sure.

Morlin: I'm using comic Spidey, which means he's married to MJ, and uses web-shooters.

Elven Lord Mic: Unfortunately, I have not seen any of the new episodes.  Sad for me, right?  What that means, is that this fic sort of takes off in a different direction after the end of the third season.  In this fic, the final door of Apocalypse remains safely sealed.  For the time being anyway…

Ethelyn: Amanda's powers may yet surface if that's what people wanna see.

Roguechere: I will mention the team's members in the text of the stories, so don't worry none _petite._

Well, that's it for ramblings.  Enjoy the show!

Spider-Man scrambled up the side of the building, hopping over the lip at the top and flattening himself out on the roof just as a deadly rain of lead tore up the plaster where he had been clinging moments before.

          The battle with the gun-toting men, whom Spider-Man had learned called themselves the Friends of Humanity thanks to the big advertisement splashed across their vans, had been going quite well.  They had been terrorizing an elderly gentleman who ran a general store that sold to mutants, the very group of people Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker had come to Bayville to get pictures of for the newspaper he worked for, the Daily Bugle.

          Then the bullets had started flying.  Spider-Man was no stranger to dodging bullets; his agility and precognitive spider-sense were a perfect combination to escaping any gunfight virtually unharmed.

          Then reinforcements in the form of two white vans full to bursting with F.O.H. members had arrived on the scene, and Spider-Man suddenly found himself facing off with more gunmen than even he could handle easily.

          He had spent the previous five minutes avoiding fire, which had ended with him crawling up the side of a building and taking cover on the roof.  He heard the gunfire cease.  He had bought himself a few moments respite, but he didn't expect it to last.  No doubt the men were already looking for a way up to the roof to finish him off.

          Figuring he only had a few minutes to come up with a plan of action, Spider-Man shimmied to the edge of the building and peered over.  Just as he had suspected, the head goon was giving marching orders to his men.  One part of the group was being directed to take the direct approach and bust down the front door.  A second was ordered to go around back and look for a fire escape or some other means of getting onto the roof.  The remaining members stayed on the sidewalk to stand guard.

          Spider-Man wasn't going to get a better chance.  With the group divided in three, the numbers were back to a more manageable deal.  If he was quick enough, he could eliminate one group before the others caught on.

          The red and blue clad hero waited until the first group had disappeared inside the building.  Giving them a few minutes in which to find the stairs and start climbing, Spider-Man brought his legs under him, tensed his muscles, and leapt.

          Spider-Man sailed over the ledge and straight down.  He landed on the ground behind the remaining group of F.O.H. members, his powerful leg muscles absorbing the impact.  Before his adversaries could register his presence, he flipped forward, slamming his feet into the back on of man's head.  By the time he hit the floor; Spider-Man had flipped to the side, landed on one man's shoulders, and used him as a platform to spring off of, bowling over another opponent.  Leaping upwards, he spread both legs out in a split, catching two goons on the chin.

          One of the F.O.H. members brought his rifle to bear.  Spider-Man gummed up the barrel with a spray of webbing, backhanded the man, picked him up, and threw him into two more of his compatriots.

          The group still inside the building had not yet gotten wind on the situation, but the group who had gone behind had been alerted by the sounds of battle.  They came rushing back around the corner, guns trained on the wall-crawler.

          His spider-sense gave him a warning, and Spider-Man jumped clear of the next round of bullets.  Firing a web line across the street, Spider-Man swung over and attached himself to the building, crawling around the side to avoid more shots.

          Spidey knew that if this kept up for much longer, one of two things was bound to happen.  He'd get hurt, or some innocent would.  He had to end the battle before the second option happened.

          The arrival of a third van caught his attention.  He inwardly groaned at the thought of having more gun waving lunatics running around.  But as it came closer, he noticed a few differences between it and the vans belonging to the F.O.H.

          For starters it was black, not white.  And on closer inspection, it was revealed to be heavily armored, and it had obviously had some special modifications done to it.  It screeched to a halt and the doors flew opened, spilling its' brightly costumed contents.  Spidey wasn't quite so sure he was saved just yet; bright costumes didn't automatically mean good guys.

          A sound from above caught his attention next.  Glancing up, he saw a hybrid helicopter/jet thingy land on the building across the street.  Once its' rotors stopped spinning it unloaded its' own crew of costumed strangers, who began to make their way to ground level.

          "Well, things just got a whole lot more interesting."  Spider-Man mumbled to himself.

          Avalanche stepped out the X-Van's driver's seat, followed by the rest of his Silver Team.  He was slightly apprehensive about the coming fight.  This was his first mission as a Team leader, and he hoped he didn't screw up and get one of his teammates killed.

          Lance glanced up at the roof and watched as Banshee's Gold Team disembarked from the _Velocity.  The Irish mutant began issuing orders like an old pro.  Sucking in a breath, Lance turned his attention back to his team._

          Shadowcat, Polaris, Magma, Spyke, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom stood by, awaiting his instructions.

          "Alright guys remember, we're going up against normal humans.  They're armed, but it's nothing we can't handle.  Just remember to go easy on 'em.  Nothing too serious, right?"  He directed a meaningful look at Tabitha.

          Tabby rolled her eyes.  "Don't worry Lancey, I won't lose it."

          "Right.  Let's go."  Silver Team made their way over to the Friends of Humanity, who raised their weapons at the sight of them.

          Polaris raised her hands and grabbed some of the rifles in her magnetic grasp.  With a tug, they were torn from their owner's hands.  She then balled her fists, reducing the guns into hunks of twisted metal.

          Magma powered up to her flame form, which startled some of the F.O.H. members so much that they forgot they were holding weapons.  Firing off small jets of flame, she melted the barrels of their guns, rendering them useless.

          Cannonball blasted into flight, barring down on a small number of adversaries.  They fired at him, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off his kinetic envelope.  He slowed down as much as he was able to before he actually crashed into the men, if he hit them at full force, he smash their bones into a fine powder.

          As it was, he managed to slow himself enough that he only knocked them aside roughly.  A few of them would likely suffer broken bones, but nothing they wouldn't live through.

          On the roof above, Gold Team was preparing to descend to street level, when the part of the F.O.H. group that had originally gone into the building looking for Spider-Man emerged onto the rooftop.

          A few tense moments passed while the two groups stared each other down, then the Friends of Humanity identified them as mutants and opened fire.

          Colossus stepped to the fore, shielding his teammates with his armored body.  Banshee rose above the group, using his sonic scream to disorient the F.O.H. members.  The X-Men were unaffected, thanks to the Beast, who had provided them with special ear plugs that would filter out Banshee's sonic attack without impeding their hearing.

          While their opponents were incapacitated, Toad and Nightcrawler sprung into their midst, knocking out one thug after another with powerful kicks and acrobatic maneuvers.

          "Havok, Marrow, Bishop!  Get down to the ground an' help out Silver Team, we'll finish up here!"  Banshee shouted as Colossus strode into the enemies and began knocking them out.  He knew that Avalanche's team would be facing greater numbers and might need the assistance.

          Marrow and Bishop moved immediately to comply, used to taking orders from the older mutant.  Havok hesitated only slightly, before accepting the order and following his ex-Marauder teammates, though he stayed a few feet back from them, still slightly uncomfortable in their presence.

          Down below, the Silver Team were holding their own.  Avalanche shook the ground beneath some of his attackers' feet, throwing off their aim.  Bullets shot harmlessly into the sky as the gunmen fell onto their backs.

          Glancing to the side, Lance watched as Kitty phased up through the ground, Boom-Boom in tow.  Tabby formed a cluster of her time bombs, tossing them at the feet of some unsuspecting goons.  The small bundles of energy went off, causing the men to jump and howl in pain as their boots were burned away.  Spyke took advantage of their distraction to knock them senseless with a bone club.

          Lance was about to turn his attention back to his own opponents, when he noticed an F.O.H. members sneak up behind Kitty, intent on splitting her head open with the butt of his rifle.  Lance tried to shout a warning, but a pair of arms grabbed him around the neck from behind.  His vision was suddenly filled by a man who slammed the butt of his rifle into Lance's gut.

          The breath left Lance in a rush as his body attempted to double over by reflex, but was prevented by the arms holding him upright.  Through swimming vision, he saw the rifle descended towards Kitty, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

          At that point, a red and blue fist flashed seemingly out of nowhere and connected with the side of Kitty's assailant's head.  The rifle blow went wide and the thug toppled to the ground, out cold.

          Lance was immensely relieved, but the feeling was short lived when he noticed the business end of an assault rifle pointed at his face.  He tried to call forth his powers, but he was still too woozy from the blow to his stomach.

          He squeezed his eyes shut just as the gunman squeezed the trigger.  A bright light flashed by his face, and Lance waited for his world to end.

          When he could still feel his heartbeat ten seconds later, he knew something was up.  He slowly opened his eyes and saw a bewildered F.O.H. member standing in front of him, holding the smoking remains of his rifle.

          Looking to his left, Avalanche saw Havok, his hand still glowing, standing with Bishop and Marrow.  Alex had evidently saved him with a well timed plasma-blast.

          Marrow formed one of her "bonemeranges" that she had become famous for during training sessions and hurled it at the man holding Lance.  The projectile struck home and knocked him out.  Lance dropped to one knee, sucking in air.  He waved a thanks to his saviors.

          Lance knew, as he stood to rejoin the battle, that he had something to tell Kitty tonight.

          Shadowcat was slightly aware of a presence behind her.  Turning her head, she just caught a glance of the rifle butt on a collision course with her head.  She wouldn't be able to phase in time!

          Before the blow could be struck, the red and blue stranger they X-Men had come to help in the first place swung down from his hiding spot, dispatching her attacker with a quick punch.

          "Th-thanks."  Kitty said, blinking at the speed with which he moved.

          "No problem.  Though I think I should be thanking you, little lady."  The stranger said as he casually knocked out two more goons with a graceful back flip into a double spread kick.  "You and your friends showed up in the proverbial nick of time."

          The last conscious F.O.H. member was taken down when Bishop landed him a solid blow from one meaty fist.  The Silver Team gathered around the stranger as the rest of Gold Team made it down from the roof to join them.

          "Well, like I told your friend, thanks for the assist.  But just who are you people?"  The stranger asked.

          "We're the X-Men.  Or some of them, anyway."  Kurt said.  "I'm called Nightcrawler.  This is Banshee, Colossus, Toad, Havok, Marrow, Bishop, Avalanche, Shadowcat, Polaris, Magma, Spyke, Cannonball, and Boom-Boom."

          "Uh…well, I know I'm never going to remember all of your names, but it's nice to meet you anyway.  I'm your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.  Um, take me to your leader?"

          "So…Spider-Man, was it?"

          Xavier sat behind his desk, looking up at the man his students had brought home.  Rather than sitting in a chair, the red and blue clad superhero had opted to cling upside down to the ceiling.

          "That's what they call me."  He confirmed.

          "Well, I must say, your appearance here is quite a surprise.  I'm quite puzzled as to why my supercomputer Cerebro did not pick up on your mutation right away."

          "Maybe that's because I don't have a mutation."

          Xavier raised a quizzical eyebrow.  "Then, how exactly are you sticking to my ceiling?"

          Spider-Man shrugged.  "Got bitten by a radioactively enhanced spider."

          Xavier blinked.  "I…see.  So you weren't born with your powers?"

          "Nope."

          "Most interesting.  And the webs?"

          Spider-Man removed one of his gloves, revealing a device that was clamped around his wrist, with a small extension over his palm.  Spider-Man touched the extension, and a thin web line shot forward, coating a corner of Xavier's desk.

          "It's not actually webbing, but a chemical mixture designed to simulate it.  I have to make more periodically to restock my supply."

          "Hank would love to know the formula, I'm sure."  Xavier said, reaching out to touch the sticky substance.  It felt exactly as he figured a real spider's web would.

          "So this school of yours is a training ground for mutants?"  Spider-Man asked as he replaced his glove.

          Xavier nodded.  "That's correct.  Mutant powers generally manifest themselves around puberty.  The purpose of this institute is to teach young mutants how to control and master their powers, and how to use them against mutants who would use their powers for evil purposes.  It's also to provide them a safe haven from those who…don't understand them."

          "Like those guys I was fighting earlier when your students showed up to save my bacon?"

          "Exactly.  The Friends of Humanity are a perfect example of mankind's intolerance of us."

          "I always hoped our kind was above that kind of stuff."

          Xavier smiled.  "Regardless, I continue to hope for a peaceful future between our species.  In the meantime, do you require a place to stay while you're in town?  I'm sure we could accommodate you."

          Spider-Man shook his head.  "No, it's alright.  I've got a hotel.  It'd be pretty hard for me to stay here, I'd have to keep my mask on all the time.  Guys gotta have his secrets."

          "Of course, however…"  Xavier fished around in his coat pocket until he came up with a business card.  He held it out to his guest.  Spider-Man shot out a web line to retrieve it.  "If you need the X-Men's assistance, just call that number."

          "Thanks Professor."  Spider-Man tucked the card into his boot.  He then crawled across the ceiling and onto the wall.  Crawling down until he reached a window, he opened it and slipped out.  Giving one last wave to Xavier, Spider-Man departed the mansion.  He still had to go back to the scene of the battle to get his clothes and camera.

          "Jameson should pay a fortune for those shots.  Wait a minute, this is ol' JJJ I'm talking about.  I'll be lucky if I get enough to pay next weeks rent."

          Kitty searched the mansion floor by floor.  She hadn't seen Lance since they had gotten back from the battle with the Friends of Humanity.  She could tell something was bothering him, but she couldn't find him to find out what.

          Phasing her head through the rec room door, she saw Gambit, Pyro, Cyclops, Colossus, and Psylocke playing a game of poker.  From the looks of things, Betsy was beating the pants off the boys, a fact that seemed to annoy Remy to no end.

          "You sure you ain't usin' you're psychic powers _cher_?"  Remy asked as Elizabeth won yet another hand.

          "Why Mr. LeBeau, are you accusing a refined lady like myself of cheating?"  Betsy asked as she collected her winnings, which was comprised of nearly all the contents of her opponent's wallets.

          "Let me tell you, ol' Remy be playin' dis game a long time, an' he ain't never been cleaned out like he has by you.  Somethin' not right."

          "Yer jus' not used ta losin' Swamp Rat."  Rogue said from the couch, where she was engrossed in one of her books.  "Ya should learn ta accept it, its good fer ya."

          Remy grumbled and began to deal the next hand.

          "Hey, have any of you guys seen Lance around?"  Kitty asked, remembering why she had come here in the first place.

          The others looked at her and shook their heads or shrugged their shoulders.  Betsy closed her eyes halfway for a moment and concentrated.

          "He's out on the grounds, near the fountain, I think."  She said at length.

          "Thanks Betts."  Kitty said.  She pulled away from the door and hurried out the front door.  Crossing the yard towards the fountain, she spotted a figure sitting under the elaborately carved angel.  Just as Betsy had said, it was Lance.

          "Lance, are you, like, alright?"  She asked as she approached.

          Lance jumped, startled, and turned to face her.  "Oh, Kitty hey.  I didn't hear you."

          "Sorry."  She sat down on the stone edge next to him, looking up at him.  Lance looked back at her with a look she couldn't quite identify.  "So, what's up with you.  I haven't seen you, like, all day since we came back from the fight."

          Lance sighed and looked away from her for a few moments.  When he looked back, his eyes were shinning slightly.

          "I…I almost died today, did ya know?"

          Kitty gasped, her hand shooting to her mouth.  She hadn't known.  "W-when?"

          "Right around the time when Spider-Man saved you from the guy.  I almost got shot.  Alex saved me, but if he had been a second later…"

         He didn't finish his sentence, but Kitty realized where he was going.  Her eyes filling with tears, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

          After a few moments, she pulled back enough to look him in the face.  "But he wasn't, and you're still here."

          "I know, but…it got me to thinking.  If I had…you know, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to tell you…tell you…"

          "Tell me what?"

          Lance closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.  His face had gone slightly red, but he seemed determined to get the words out.

          "That I…I love you."

          Kitty stared dumbly at him for the next few minutes, bouncing his words around inside her head, making sure she heard what she heard.  "You…you…?"

          Lance nodded.

          Kitty, forgoing words, as she wasn't able to formulate any anyway, planted her lips on his with enough ferocity to knock him off the edge of the fountain and onto his back on the ground.

          They stayed like that for quite some time, until they both felt a chilling sensation in the air around them.         

          Breaking their kiss, the pair looked up just in time to see an out-of-season pile of snow land on their heads.

          They clambered out of the pile, turning angry glares on the young Bobby Drake, who was standing by with an impish grin on his face.

          "Had to make sure you guys didn't get too carried away."

          "You're dead, Popsicle!"  Lance yelled.

          "Ah crap!"  Bobby formed a hasty ice slide and made his escape.  Lance pursued him, the ground shaking as he ran, with Kitty bringing up the rear, promising many painful deaths, most of which involved an ice cream scoop, a rubber chicken, a nutcracker, or some combination of the three.

          Sinister always spent a lot of time in his laboratory.  But over the past few days, he had been in there longer than was normal even for him.  That was to be expected, he had great work to do.

          He studied the glass cylinder that ran floor to ceiling, and the figure that floated within among a greenish ooze.  It had grown much in the last seventy-two hours.  It now had recognizable limbs and a head.  In just a few more days, it will have grown as much as if it were a normal fetus in it's' mothers womb for nine months.

          Sinister was pondering what to call his creation when he heard a disturbance coming from upstairs.  The ceiling shook, knocking bits of plaster loose.  Sinister thought nothing of it, probably just Rictor flexing his muscles.

          When the shaking failed to stop several minutes later, Sinister began to grow concerned.  The shaking was then punctuated by shouting, and footsteps running to the door to his lab.

          It flung open and Rictor's voice called down.  "Boss!  It's Magneto!"

          Sinister scowled.  How had that deluded fool managed to find him.  Rising from his chair, Sinister mounted the stairs to the main level and strode through the mansion he and the Marauders had acquired.

          Sounds of battle could be heard coming from the front lawn.  Upon reaching the scene, Sinister saw his Marauders locked in combat with Magneto, his son Quicksilver, the animal Sabretooth, and a newcomer Sinister didn't recognize.  He wore a yellow, purple, and black armored costume with a yellow cape.  He had fine, chiseled features, and lustrous, black, shoulder length hair.

          The newcomer was swerving back and forth through the air, discharging energy bolts at the Marauders, holding them at bay.

          "So Magnus, finally come calling have you?"

          Magneto held up a hand, and his Acolytes ceased their attack.  The Marauders also stopped at the arrival of their leader.

          "Ah, you must be Sinister.  I've heard so much about you from Sabretooth here.  Used to be friends, did you?"

          "Used to be."  Sinister growled, casting a red-eyed glare Sabretooth's way.  The big mutant seemed to flinch inwardly, but returned the glare with equal ferocity.

          "Oh, where are my manners.  Have you met my newest Acolyte?"  Magneto gestured at the newcomer.  "I'd like you to meet Bennet DuParis.  

          "Better known as Exodus."

          Bishop strolled into the entrance foyer of Xavier's mansion.  It had been amusing to watch Psylocke clean house at the poker game.  Obviously the Cajun had never come up against an opponent who could keep up with him, and had insisted on dealing hands until he had nothing left to wager.

          Bishop was almost to the kitchen when a knock came from the mansion's front door.  Noticing that no one else was around to answer it, Bishop crossed back to it and pulled it open.

          He was greeted by the sight of a futuristic looking rifle pointed directly between his eyes.  Bishop followed the rifle's barrel back to its owner.  He took in the close cropped silver hair, the glowing left eye, and the metallic left arm.

          "Ah Hell."

          "Hello Bishop."  Cable said, and pulled the trigger.

          Alrighty!  Another chapter down.  Score.  Who knew Betsy was that good at cards?  And Magneto's most fanatically loyal Acolyte has made his appearance now!  And what will become of poor Bishop?  Stay tuned to find out!  Until next time, Cobra awayyyyy!


	16. A Past from the Future

Disclaimer:  Tell me you've gotten the point by now?

Hey there people.  Next chapter here.  Sorry for the wait, things have been going on.

Arekanderu:  Exodus is a comic character, if you're not familiar with him, he can fly and discharge energy bolts, he also happens to be from twelfth century Paris, but that's another story.

Beannut:  It's always a great compliment to hear that I've inspired some one else to write.  I look forward to reading your work in the future.

Dan: River of Dreams is an excellent fanfic, and I'm a big fan of it.  I wouldn't want to make you think it's inferior compared to mine.  Thanks for the comment though.

Enjoy the show.     

The moment Bishop registered that a gun was pointed at his face, training kicked in.  Jerking his head to one side, he managed to remove himself from the weapon's sights, just as Cable pulled the trigger.  The bright burst of plasma streaked by his ear, taking a few strands of black hair with it.  It continued on until it smashed into another of Xavier's priceless Ming vases, shattering it.

          Bishop rolled and instinctively reached behind him for his own weapon, before remembering he no longer had a weapon, courtesy of Wolverine during their brawl at the docks. (See chapter 7)

          Bishop also knew that Cable's weapon was designed to negate his energy absorbing powers.  If Bishop tried to take a blast from the weapon in the chest, he'd be minus a heart, and maybe a lung or two.

          That left him at a distinct disadvantage against an adversary who was well trained, highly skilled, and wouldn't stop coming until he was dead.

          "Ah hell."  Bishop said again.

          Cable swiveled around to face Bishop, leveling his rifle at him and firing.  Bishop rolled to one side again and the blast went wide, burning a hole in the Oriental rug that covered the floor.

          "Just hold still and make it easier on the both of us."  Cable said as he tracked Bishop's movements.  Bishop dove through the door into the rec room just as a plasma burst from Cable's gun incinerated a small table.

          Bishop scuttled behind the couch and crouched, waiting for a chance to strike.  Cable came stalking into the room moments later, gun sweeping from side to side, left eye narrowed slightly as he searched out his victim.  Bishop waited until Cable passed his hiding spot, and then lunged.  Knocking the gun out of the surprised Cable's hand, Bishop simultaneously punched him across the jaw with his other.

          Cable stumbled backwards and Bishop was on him relentlessly.  The larger mutant landed blow after blow against the man hunting him.  Cable covered up as best he could, but Bishop's assault continued to drive him backwards into the entrance foyer.

          Bishop went for another punch, but miscalculated the distance needed to land it.  Cable saw this and grabbed Bishop's out stretched arm, twisting his hips and throwing his prey over his shoulder.  Bishop sailed through the air and landed hard on his back several feet away.  He started to get up again, but Cable tackled him down, his metallic left fist closing around Bishop's throat.  Cable raised his right hand and prepared to slam it into Bishop's nose, hopefully driving the cartilage back into his brain and ending the fight. 

          A blast of scarlet energy ripped through the air and slammed into Cable, knocking him sprawling off Bishop.

          Cable looked up to see Scott standing before him, one hand on his glasses, ready to lift them.  Jean, Remy, Kurt, Amanda, Wanda, and St. John were standing behind him, having heard the commotion and come to investigate.

          "I may not be Bishop's biggest fan, but I don't very much like strangers breaking into my house and roughing up my teammates."  Scott said, his eyes glowing ominously behind partially lifted glasses.

          "Me and him got business that doesn't concern you kid, stay out of it."  Cable growled as he got to his feet.

          "By bringing your business here, you've made it ours as well."  Jean said.

          Bishop got to his feet, dusting himself off.  "Would you mind giving me a charge, Cyclops?  I'd like to blast this little bugger a few times."

          Scott frowned at Bishop.  "Why don't we try and figure out just what's going on here first, hmm?"

          "Yes, why don't we."  All heads turned as Xavier rolled into the foyer.  He took in the shattered vase, the burned carpet, and the pile of ashes that was once a hand carved 18th century redwood table.  His eye gave a funny little twitch.

          Taking a deep breath, Xavier turned to face his uninvited houseguest.  "Well, perhaps you'd like to tell us what this is all about?"

          Cable took stock of the situation.  He was outnumbered, and his firearm was still in the rec room.  Might as well start talking.

          "My name is Cable, I'm a tracker.  I've come here looking for him."  He pointed at Bishop.  "This man is a wanted criminal.  My orders are to apprehend or execute by my discretion."

          "What crimes has he been committed of?"

          "Let's see, try breaking and entering, larceny, assault on government employee's, shall I go on?"

          "They deserved everything they got."  Bishop said, indignation creeping into his voice.

          "They were just doing their jobs.  Protecting that time-spanner you stole is very high priority, and calls for using extreme measures."

          "Excuse me, 'time-spanner'?"  Xavier cut in, more than a little confused.

          Cable glanced at the Professor, left eye flashing once.  "Hasn't he told you?"

          Everyone turned to look at Bishop.  Bishop looked back at each one of them in turn and shrugged his shoulders.  "Oops.  Must've slipped my mind.  I'm from the future."

          Sinister stared at Magneto incredulously for a few moments, before the evil geneticist finally burst out laughing.

          "_Three Acolytes?  You actually think you're going to defeat my Marauders with three Acolytes?  Have you gone quite mad, Magnus?"_

          "I can assure you, Sinister, that I am of sound mind.  Allow me to demonstrate.  Exodus?"

          Exodus floated over next to Magneto, head bowed.  "Yes, my lord?"

          "Show them what you're capable of."

          "As my lord wishes."  Exodus turned to face the Marauders.  Clenching his fists, his hands began to glow with a bright orange light.  He then threw both hands forward, palms out.  Twin blasts of concussive force lanced out, streaking through the air and striking Vertigo and Mimic in their chests.

          Sinister's red eyes began to glow with savage ferocity.  "Eradicate them!"  He shouted at his Marauders.  "I want Magneto's bloody head on a pike before the sun sets!"

          Sunfire took to the air, streaking straight towards Exodus.  The two became quickly engaged in an aerial dogfight, blasts of force and intense heat shooting back and forth between them as they dodged and weaved.

          Juggernaut charged forward, lowering his head in preparation of plowing into Sabretooth.  Magneto reached out and grasped Juggernaut in his magnetic grip, the behemoth's armored costume providing a perfect target.

          Using Juggernaut as a human battering ram, Magneto swung him around, first into Black Tom, and then again into Sauron, who was attempting to fly up behind Quicksilver.  Magneto then deposited Juggernaut upside down, driving his head a few feet into the ground up to his broad chest.

          Mimic pulled himself to his feet, shaking off the effects of Exodus' blast.  Utilizing his power copying ability, he took on Sabretooth's animal senses, increased strength, and healing factor.

          Sabretooth didn't take very kindly to being imitated and leapt at Mimic.  Mimic met his attack, and the two rolled across the ground, snarling and slashing at each other.  Sabretooth rolled into a crouch, tensing the muscles in his powerful legs.  He sprung at Mimic as he came up from a roll, tackling the power-copying mutant hard.  Mimic's breath left him in a rush as Sabretooth's shoulder plowed into his gut, but his healing factor compensated quickly.  Mimic used Sabretooth's momentum to fling the large mutant backwards into a tree.  The tree snapped in half with the under the force of Sabretooth's body, knocking the feral mutant into semi-consciousness.

          Omega Red had his hands quite full with Quicksilver.  The speedy mutant was running circles around the Russian supersoilder, who couldn't manage to get his carbonadium tendrils latched onto his prey.

          "Hold still worm!"  Omega Red shouted as he sent one of his tendrils lashing out, only to have Quicksilver zip out of the way at the last second once more.

          "What's the matter, too fast for ya?"  Pietro taunted as he dashed around.  Avoiding another grasping tendril, he sped up to Omega Red and leveled a punch to the white-skinned man's gut.

          Pietro's eyes widened in pain as his fist connected with something very solid.

          "Fool!"  Red laughed.  "My armor is constructed out of carbonadium, a metal second only to adamantium in density.  You cannot hope to breach it!"  Taking advantage of Pietro's moment of stunned distraction, Omega Red wrapped a tentacle around the silver-haired boy's neck.

          Pietro's eyes widened as the thick appendage tightened around his neck.  He then felt his life force begin to be leeched out of him by Omega Red's death pheromones.

          Quicksilver's feet kicked spasmodically in the air, but could find no purchase to make his super-speed of any use.

          Omega Red laughed as he continued to strangle the life out of Pietro.  Suddenly, an invisible hand latched around his torso and jerked him off the ground.

          Startled, Omega Red dropped Pietro.  He was turned in mid-air and came face-to-face with the Master of Magnetism.

          "Your vaunted carbonadium armor will be your undoing."  Magneto said, and clenched his fist.  Omega Red felt his armor suddenly tighten uncomfortably around him.  Horrified, he quickly realized that Magneto intended to crush him to death in his own armor!

          The air itself seemed to shake as vibratory waves of seismic activity tore through it.  The waves slammed into Magneto's back, throwing him off balance.  Forgetting Omega Red, Magneto dropped him and turned to face the Marauder's field commander.

          "Try those tricks with me, bucket head!"  Rictor shouted as he projected another blast of seismic waves at Magneto.  The blasts struck home, rattling Magneto's head inside his helmet.  Losing his concentration, the Master of Magnetism fell to the ground, dazed.

          Rictor prepared to level Magneto with another blast, but a scaly, taloned hand on his shoulder stopped him.

          "Oh, let me have him Rictor."  Sauron hissed.  "His life force is great; we shall have such a feast!"

          Rictor shrugged.  "Why not?  Drain him dry will you?  I'd rather not have to deal with him anymore."

          Sauron nodded gleefully, a maniacal glint lighting his yellow eyes.

          Sinister stood idly by and watched as his Marauders battled Magneto's Acolytes.  They had been performing admirably, as he expected.  Quicksilver had yet to fully recover from his brush with death; Sabretooth had only just recovered and had rushed to re-engage Mimic.  Unfortunately for him, Juggernaut had extricated himself from the ground and was rushing to back Mimic up, Black Tom right behind him.

          This new Acolyte called Exodus, however, was proving to be a much different story.  He handily defeated Sunfire, and then turned his attention to Sauron, blasting him away before he could drain Magneto completely.  His lord safe for the time being, Exodus turned to battle Rictor and Omega Red simultaneously. 

          Yes, this Exodus was proving quite a force to be reckoned with.  "Well done Magnus."  Sinister whispered to himself.  "I did not think you had any aces up your sleeve.  I must commend you for surprising me.  Still…"  Sinister glanced over his shoulder at the mansion behind him, his thoughts on his secret laboratory in the sub-levels.  "You have yet to meet my ace.  Soon though…"

          Silence had descended over the entrance foyer of the Institute.

          "I'm sorry; I don't think I heard you properly.  Did you say you were from the _future_?"  Xavier asked, incredulous.

          "Yup."  Bishop said, as if Xavier had just asked him if two and two equaled four.

          "How…how…"  Xavier was dumbfounded.  Of all the things he had expected from the mysterious mutant, this was not one of them.

          Further conversation was interrupted by a computerized voice that rang out over the mansion's loudspeakers.  "Attention.  Attention.  High level mutant activity detected.  Repeat: high level mutant activity detected."  The computer rattled off a set of coordinates.

          "We'll have to continue this later.  Scott, take your Blue Team to the coordinates given by Cerebro, I'll send Green Team along to help.  Hank, please find accommodations for Cable here, and try to see to it that he and Bishop remain separated.  We'll continue this conversation later."

          Everyone nodded and set about to perform their duties.

          The _Blackbird streaked across the sky, with the _Velocity _following just behind.  Cyclops sat at the helm of the modified SR-71, Jean in the co-pilots seat next to him, and the rest of his Blue team arranged behind him.  Behind his combat visor, Scott's eyes glanced alternately between the cockpit canopy and the senor array, looking for any sign of what they had been sent to look for._

          "What d'you think it is?"  He asked quietly, directing the question to Jean.

          The redhead shrugged her shoulders.  "Could be anything, though I have an idea or two."

          "Anything on your telepathy?"

          "No, which is strange in itself."

          Scott reached over and flicked a switch on the control panel.

          "_Blackbird to __Velocity do you read?"_

          There was a crackle of static, and then Bobby's voice came over the intercom.  "_Velocity _here, go ahead Cyke."

          "You guys picked anything up yet?"

          "Not a thing Cyclops."  Bobby answered.  "I'm starting to think…hold on, do you see that?"

          Scott turned his attention back out the window and saw what Bobby was referring to.  The aircraft had come up on the source of the mutant activity Cerebro had picked up on.

          Below them was a fair sized mansion, smaller than the Institute, which was set back in the woods from the main town.  There was a pitched battle going on below between Magneto, who had Sabretooth, his son, and a mutant the X-Men didn't recognize, fighting against…

          "The Marauders.  Knew it."  Scott grumbled.  

          The two X-craft banked in mid air and searched for a place to land.  Eventually they were able to find an open clearing in the woods to accommodate them, and disembarked.

          Sinister took notice of the two aircraft that flew over his stolen property moments before, and a deep scowl crossed his face.  He did not need this.  He couldn't risk damage to the house, not while his greatest project was inside.

          "Marauders!  We must end this quickly.  We are about to receive a visit from our friends the X-Men!"

          "We're trying boss!"  Rictor called back.  And indeed they were, very hard.  Whoever this newcomer Exodus was, he was extremely skilled in combat, as if he had been bred for nothing else.

          A crashing sound from the trees announced the X-Men's arrival.  Juggernaut looked up as the Blue and Green Teams emerged from the foliage.

          "Alright, my dear brother's mutant toddlers!"  The goliath promptly abandoned his pursuit of Magneto and turned, charging the group of mutants.

          The X-Men scattered, all except for Blob, who planted his feet and prepared to meet Juggernaut's charge head on.  The proverbial unstoppable slammed into the immovable.  Blob's feet dug deep trenches in the ground as he was driven backwards, but he never lost his footing.

          Juggernaut ceased his forward momentum and disengaged from his lock with Blob.  The two began to trade blows, Juggernaut's armor prevented Blob from doing too much damage, but at the same time, Fred's girth absorbed many of the crimson behemoth's blows.

          The rest of the Marauders broke off from their skirmishes, giving the winded Acolyte's a few moments to recuperate.

          Black Tom pointed his gnarled walking stick at Scott and attempted to blast him.  Cyclops dove to the side, at the same time reaching up to the firing stud on the side of his visor and firing off an optic blast.  Black Tom intercepted the ruby beam with another shot of concussive force.

          Sunspot and Sunfire faced each other in mid-air, each one staring the other down.  Sunfire finally grew tired of the contest and shot a blast of intense heat at his Brazilian counterpart.  Sunspot countered a firey projectile of his own, and so began a tense battle that made the air around the two combatants unapproachable from the heat being given off.

          Rictor faced off with Psylocke, the two former teammates glared daggers at each other.

          "Well traitor, I must admit I'm surprised you dared to show your face here again.  I thought you'd be long gone."

          Psylocke sneered, her psychic knife flaring to life.  "I always knew you were a jerk Julio, but I never figured you for a murderer.  How could you have done what you did to the Morlocks?"

          "Just following orders, Betts."

          "Is that all you can do?  Crawl around at Sinister's beck and call?  Damning yourself just to please him?"

          "Hey, unlike some of us, I didn't forget where I cam from, and where I'd be today if it wasn't for Sinister."

          "Not much of an excuse in my opinion."  Forgoing further conversation, Betsy leapt forward, psychic knife directed at Rictor's head.  The Marauder's field commander dodged to the side, and then proceeded to break up the ground under Psylocke, making for a very rough landing.  The purple-haired beauty applied a burst of telekinesis to make her landing a little smoother, but her shoulder still banged painfully against a chunk or rock.  Rictor continued to hassle her with blasts of seismic energy, forcing her to use all the skills in her repertoire to keep from getting smushed, at the same time keeping her from getting close enough to land a decisive strike.

          Sauron flapped around the battlefield, until he caught sight of Iceman and Berserker.  He grinned evilly and dove towards the pair.  "I've got a score to settle with you brats!"  He screeched.

          "So, you want more of what we gave you at the docks ugly?"  Ray called as he charged his fists with electrical energy.  He fired a jolt at the reptilian monster, who barrel rolled nimbly to one side.  He then swooped low and slammed his shoulder into Berserker's stomach, knocking him backwards into his icy companion.  The two boys fell in a tangle of limbs.

          Sauron flapped over, and began to leech the life force off his prey.  Bobby felt himself growing weaker and desperately aimed a shot at Sauron.  The icy blast went wide, however, and did not deter the monster from his feast.

          Suddenly, two small hands covered Sauron's eyes from behind.  The reptilian energy vampire could hardly register surprise when bright light exploded in his vision, momentarily blinding him.  Sauron screeched indignantly, holding his hands to his eyes as he staggered away, forgetting his feeding.

          Jubilee giggled as she watched him stumble around.  "That was sooo cool."

          Gambit assessed Vertigo with a critical eye, two playing cards held in one hand, ready to be charged at a moments notice.  The woman didn't look very threatening, but Remy knew better than to make any assumptions.

          "So _cher, what kind of challenge you provide Gambit wit', hmm?"_

          Vertigo smiled.  "Allow me to show you, my handsome friend."  She raised both arms in the air.  Gambit waited for him to be lifted off his feet, or for the ground to shake, or something, but nothing happened.

          "Uh, you sure your powers not broken or somet'in'?"  Even as he spoke, Gambit felt a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.  The feeling quickly grew to a general feeling of nausea, and then the world began to spin.

          "Whoa…Gambit not feelin' so good."  He stated as he began to sway on his feet.  "Maybe shoulda laid off de gumbo dis mornin'."  He groaned and doubled over as the sensation grew worse, the playing cards forgotten in his hand.

          "Hmmm, I think maybe I could have some fun with you."  Vertigo purred as Gambit squirmed in front of her, fighting to keep from throwing up.

          "Ah highly doubt that, sugah."

          Vertigo turned her head, only to come into contact with Rogue's bare hand.  Vertigo gave a small cry, and then collapsed.

          Gambit took a few deep breaths as his stomach stopped flipping over itself.  He gave Rogue one of his grins, though it didn't come off so well with the sickly green tint his skin had taken.

          "Didn' t'ink you were de jealous type, _petite_."

          Rogue favored him with a small smile of her own.  "Don' look into it too much swamp rat, yer ego doesn't need ta be any bigger."

          "Ah, no worries dere Rogue. Ol' Remy's ego plenty big enough for everyone."

          Rogue rolled her eyes.  "Yer impossible."

          "Remy knows."

          Mimic and Omega Red faced off with the combined forces of the Scarlet Witch, Pyro, Wolfsbane, and Multiple.  The Marauders knew the two New Mutants were the less experienced, and immediately focused their attention on them.  Omega Red's deadly tentacles lashed out, shooting for Rahne.

          The animorphic Scottish mutant shifted into her four-legged form, ducking out of the way of the appendages.  She circled around behind him and jumped at him, her body flowing into it's werewolf form in mid-flight.  She landed on the Russians back, clawing and biting at anything she could reach.  His carbonadium armor blunted most of her attacks, but a few reached the exposed skin around his neck.

          "Get off…get off of me you little wench!"  Omega Red shouted, tendrils lashing violently behind him, trying to dislodge Wolfsbane.

          Rahne jumped clear from his back, just as a scarlet hex bolt surrounded him, making his own tendrils turn against him.  Omega Red shouted as the metallic tendrils tried to strangle their owner.

          Mimic saw what was happening and copied Wanda's powers, before hexing the hex out of existence.  Omega Red was saved, but Mimic suddenly had his hands full dodging a stream of fire.

          "Come an' play with me a bit, mate!"  Pyro shouted, currently in full maniac mode, and attempted to fry Mimic again.  Mimic copied St. John's powers and tried to force the flames back on their creator.  The two quickly became caught up in a struggle over the flames.

          Multiple waved Wolfsbane over.  "Hey Rahne, give me a bump."

          Rahne shrugged.  "Alrigh'."  She leaned over and smacked Jamie in the back of the head.  Instantly, five more sprung out.

          "Thanks!"  They called simultaneously, then dogpiled Mimic.

          Mimic called out in surprise and lost control over the flames.  Pyro immediately pulled them up and away, so they wouldn't burn Jamie, but he then twisted them into a ring, surrounding the combatants.

          Mimic copied Jamie's power, but was forced to let go of Pyro's fire control, as he could only hold so many powers at one time.  Soon there was a small army of Multiples and Mimics wrestling each other across the ground.

          The Marauders and the X-Men battled back and forth for some time, neither side truly gaining advantage over the other.  Sinister watched on through it all.  The X-Men were functioning far better as a unit far better than the first time they had tangled with the Marauders.  He had to give credit to Charles Xavier.  It would not save them in the end though.  Sinister always had a plan.

          He became slightly disheartened though, as Magneto and his Acolyte's suddenly rejoined the battle, shifting the favor away from the Marauders.

          For the first time, Sinister was concerned he might actually lose a battle.

          "Unacceptable."  He growled to himself.

Hey everyone.  Sorry this took so long.  I must say I am not entirely pleased with how this chapter turned out, but I've currently got a lot on my mind.  I'll explain why in a memo that will accompany this chapter when I post it.  Make sure to read it.  Thanks.


	17. A message to all my Readers

          To all my readers:

          Hey guys.  I just want to thank you all for your support thus far.  Unfortunately, I've got some sad news for you.  This fic is going to be put on hold for a while.

          You see, starting tomorrow, I am going to be entering into service in the United States Navy, and needless to say, that is going to demand all of my time.

          However, I will _not _abandon this story.  It _will _be finished, that is my promise to each and every one of you, it's just going to take some time.

          What this means is, you probably won't see the next chapter to this story until around Christmas Time, when I'm through with Boot Camp, and I'll be on vacation from school.  Bear with me, please.

          Thanks again to all of you, and I'll see you in December.

                                      Cobra awayyyyy!


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